Fighting Temptation
by TBloves2read
Summary: AU Christian Romance. Mercedes Jones is unemployed and trying to care for her ailing mother, when a job opportunity with CEO Sam Evans is offered and provides her with the finances she need to pay for her mom's operation, Mercedes, a Christian, must fight to keep from falling in love with an agnostic Sam who needs her in life not just for himself but also for his niece Maria.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, its characters, or any other liberties taken with this story. I am waiting for abbiecarr to give the story a name, and I am posting it here because of her as well.

Chapter One

"Mama, I am going to the mailbox to see if there is any new mail." Mercedes told her mother as she walked out the house and was greeted by the humidity and heat of the summer day. She lived in her hometown of Lima, Ohio, population 38,321 in which the majority was elderly people and little babies born to teenaged mothers. Mercedes, who was single, had a Masters degree, and big dreams, could not believe that she was so unlucky to have to return to this backwater. When she arrived home from college, her mother's historical house was almost condemned compared to the modern condo that she had lived in Cincinnati. In Cincinnati, she felt that she was finally on her own and had so many plans of pursuing her hopes and dreams until she received the phone call that changed her life.

She could still remember the conversation. "Mercedes they have taken Mother Pearl to the hospital, and she is being admitted to ICU." Her one time foster sister Sheila told her while sounding if she was going to die herself.

Mercedes could not believe what she was hearing, and when she saw that it was 2:30 a.m., she was convinced that she had to be dreaming. But the reality of the sounds of crying and the coldness of the phone reminded her that she was very much awoken. Instead of screaming and demanding to know what had happened, Mercedes told Sheila she was on her way. During the drive back home, Mercedes was thinking about her mother and death. Her mother wasn't a young woman; she had given birth to Mercedes while in her late forties. And they hadn't lost her father many years after Mercedes had graduated from high school. Her mom was a social worker who would take in foster children; so, Mercedes had plenty of temporary siblings over the years, and she acted as an honorary aunt to many of their children as her mother acted as an honorary grandmother.

When she arrived at the hospital later that morning, she was allowed to see her mother. Pearl had awakened and was amazed to see her daughter and the minister there. Mercedes talked to her mom and then gave the other visitors a chance to visit. Sheila was afraid to see her mother because she feared Mother Pearl was dying. After talking to the doctors, they found out that their mother had a blood clot in her lung and that it had almost taken her life. The blood clot originated from complications from Pearl's last hip replacement surgery. But with blood thinners, Pearl had recovered. Mercedes knew her mother was okay and had peace and tried to reassure her foster sisters, and as soon as her mom was taken out of ICU, she went back to her life in Cincinnati. Because Mercedes had come to the realization of how much she loved her mother and how easily her mother could be here today and gone tomorrow like her father, she made a vow to call and speak to Pearl often. Each time that she talked to her mother, Pearl sounded more frail and in greater pain.

When her mother told Mercedes that she was unable to move around without experiencing excruciating repetitive waves of pain, Mercedes decided to take a job near home and move in with her mother to take care of her. Instead of getting better, her mother continued to get worse and worse. With different doctors' opinions, Mercedes was at a lost of what to do. She quit her job to stay with her mother, but money was getting tighter and tighter. Mercedes desperately needed a job to pay for her mother to see a specialist not a doctor located in small town Ohio. Every week she went to her mailbox looking for replies for places she sent her resume to. Every week was another disappointment. Nobody wanted a college kid with less than a year of experience. She did not want to lie to get a job, so she always honestly filled out job applications. Many managers of minimum wage jobs refused to hire her because she was considered over-qualified and under-experienced. The managers decided to give these jobs to sixteen year olds with experience because they wouldn't have to worry about hiring someone new when Mercedes would eventually find a better job. Or they were afraid that she was after their jobs. Sometimes Mercedes would feel that she had found the perfect job opportunity, only to find out later that the job was filled by someone who had an inside advantage.

Being jobless and living with your mother was not the picture that Mercedes had for her life, and more bad news piled upon her when she found out her mother needed to have another hip replacement surgery. Mercedes had had every intention of trying to find a job as soon as Pearl's health got better; however, her mother's health only got worse. The doctors told her that Pearl had a bad heart, and she was diagnosed as a diabetic. Her mother was constantly in pain, and Mercedes was determined to help her mother recover so that Pearl could enjoy the remaining years of her life.

Pearl was a 68 years old brown skinned lady with hair that was not just one color. Her hair was a mixture of sandy brown, auburn, white, and jet black curly strands. As in the case of all of her "daughters", she was overweight. Everyone who met her always complimented her on how young she looked and her great skin. She was not very tall and known for her generous bottom which she passed along to her daughter. She was also known for her generosity and caring heart, and as a social worker, she had helped several people in the community find homes and receive benefits from the government. She was a smart lady, and she was a hard worker until she was disabled by arthritis and unable to work any more.

Now, no matter what doctor Pearl went to see, no one could figure out why she was suffering from so much pain besides the incurable arthritis. The doctors all prescribed her different types of pain medications, but she had become immune to the pills and was finding no relief. Mercedes decided it was time for her mother to see a specialist. The local doctors in Lima, Ohio were obviously not helping her; even the doctors from the best sports medicine facility in Ohio could not help her mother. Mercedes knew in her heart that her mother deserved to live the last years of her life without suffering from chronic exasperating pain, which was causing her to worry, and her worrying was damaging her heart.

After days and weeks of research on the web, she finally found the most distinguished specialist in osteoarthritis and bone surgery. She had to figure out a way to get him to see her mother. Mercedes finally decided to email his workplace and hoped to get a reply back. When she did, Mercedes began to correspond with him through emails and found that he would be willing to fly to Columbus from New York to see her mother, but he could not provide his services for free. Medicare was unwilling to pay for all the costs that would include travel, hotel fees, etc. Pearl was too afraid to fly and could not even bear a three hour car trip, so New York was out of the question.

Mercedes was desperate. Her mother had had the house remortgaged to pay for renovations to make the house more disabled-friendly once Mercedes had realized that they would have to remain in the home because they couldn't afford to move, and along with her bills, there was no way they could afford a loan without either one of them having a job. Mercedes could not get additional health insurance to cover her mother due to her mom's pre-existing conditions. She could barely afford keeping up her payments for her dated Trailblazer and its insurance. The only way to get the loan was for Mercedes to get a job. A local job and that alone seemed impossible.

After sorting through the mail and seeing bills, Mercedes saw a letter from her last interview, opened it, and read the rejection. She could have guessed this was going to happen, but the rejection hurt. She was tired of rejection and tired of her life. Mercedes walked back to the house and was determined to keep the disappointing news from her mother.

When she walked in the door, her mother asked, "What was in the mail?"

"Just bills, bills, and more bills and the local shopper," was Mercedes' quick reply. She had put the letter in her pocket and handed the rest of the mail to her mother. Pearl opened up each bill and read them, while Mercedes began to search the shopper for a job. She ran across a name that she had never seen before, Sam Evans, announcing the opening of his corporate office in Cleveland, Ohio, in nine months. He was doing a statewide search for employees and would be holding interviews in Columbus in three month. Mercedes couldn't believe it. A Fortune 500 company such as this one was bound to have many opening positions, but she knew she didn't have a business degree which put her at a disadvantage.

After going through the shopper, Mercedes gave up hope of finding any other job in which she was qualified for. She thought it wouldn't hurt to research Mr. Evans and the company in order to get her foot in the door when he came to Columbus. Mr. Evans might be her last hope. Mercedes began to devise a plan to get a job by any means necessary. She knew she had a lot of work cut out for her to convince Mr. Evans to hire her. She decided to redo her entire look and to study and learn corporate strategy especially all about the merger and acquisition field in which the company was about. She knew that most of the executive positions would already be filled and only junior level executives (which she knew she wasn't qualified for), human resource, personal assistants, secretarial, and janitorial positions would probably be available. She was willing to be an executive secretary or personal assistant because she doubted she was qualified to be a human resource employee and work her way to the top if that is what it took to insure that her mother would get the medical treatment that she needed.

The weeks seem to fly by and the months rolled by, and instead of becoming excited, Mercedes grew more agitated. She had no other back up plan but to get the job at SEI. Then, she needed a loan to pay for the $100,000 operation that her mother was going to need that Medicare refused to pay more than $50,000 for. She had to come up with the fifty grand and the living and travel expenses of Dr. Rogers. Mercedes was desperate for a well-paying job, and she decided that she was willing to do anything legal to get it. After learning all she could about the company and Mr. Evans, Mercedes began phase one of her plan of giving Mr. Evans an offer he couldn't and wouldn't dare to refuse.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Don't own anything, I don't take credit for anything used in this chapter that didn't stem from my own imagination.

Chapter Two

Sam was almost at the end of his rope. He didn't know what was prompting him to move from Memphis, Tennessee to Solon, Ohio which was the closest of the best cities to live in 2011 according to CNN which was located of Cleveland, Ohio, but he knew it was time for a change. His mother, Mary, had died almost five years ago of cancer, and he had just recently lost his only sister and brother-in-law as well. Stacey was his younger sister. She had become a devoted Christian while their mother was diagnosed with cancer. However, his mother still died, and Stacey still believed in God. She believed that God was going to heal her mother just like He did the people in the Bible. Nothing could convince her otherwise. Even when the doctors told her the cancer had gone undetected for too long, Stacey still believed. She had met and married a young man from her congregation who was the youth minister. Both of them would pray to God for His will for Mary, and their prayers were not answered unless God's will meant his mothers death.

"It must was His will to take her away from her suffering." Stacey told her brother after their mother had passed.

"Well, if this is an example of His will, I don't want to have any part of it." Sam told her trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes replacing his grief with anger searching for someone to blame.

"Sam, you know mother was not saved. Yes, she attended church, but she didn't have a relationship with Jesus. But before she went, she saw something and realized that He is real, and He does exist. She said He was coming to take her away from the pain and the suffering to a place where she could find eternal rest. She told Joe and me this a day before she died and asked us to pray with her as she accepted Christ into her heart and life." Stacey said to try to break down the walls Sam had erected around his heart.

"Why didn't He just heal her and give her a second chance then?" Sam asked his sister trying to break through to her.

"Well, I believe it was because that she had done what He had called her to do. She had fulfilled her destiny. If it were His will to have her for longer, then He would have healed her. But mother was tired of fighting, Sam. She was ready to go home. She realized that God has laws just like man. Mother spent her life living for herself. She smoked and drank a lot when she was younger. You know she never even told us who our fathers were. When she got pregnant with you, her religious parents kicked her out, and she had to make it on her own and couldn't count on your dad who couldn't keep a job. Then, she fell for mine a married man. Yeah, she made mistakes. She repented for them, and God forgave her. But God has laws. If we break them, then we have to suffer the consequences. If she never got sick, she might never have turned to God. I know I probably wouldn't either. Then, I would never have met Joe and have had my life turned around. I am pregnant Sam. I know the baby is going to be a girl. She can't replace mother. But God has blessed me with so much. He wants to bless you as well." Stacey said trying to get Sam to understand.

"I am happy that you are pregnant, but I don't want to hear anything more about God, okay. I still believe in Him; I just don't understand Him, and nothing you can say or do can convince me to trust Him. I am angry. I have been working hard to put you through college and to make mother proud of me. If I didn't work so much, maybe I could have seen to it that she visited the doctor and discovered she had cancer before it became so critical. I guess I am blaming God to stop from blaming myself." Sam confessed to his sister.

"I understand exactly. I felt that way at first, as well. I was all about studies, my friends, and myself and not about mother. That is when I started going to those meetings on campus studying the Bible. Then, I got involved with the college ministry and their local church. I never felt as much peace and love from knowing God and having a relationship with Him. I would like for you to feel that same peace and love, Sam. I have faith, and I know that someday you will." Stacey told her brother.

"Yeah, I know how you changed. You stop partying and began praying and met and married to Joe. I think that was the first time I really saw mother truly happy; the day Joe and you married." Sam reluctantly admitted to his sister.

"We have got to remember the good times Sam to comfort us during this time. I know that without Jesus in my life right now I wouldn't know what to do. But, I believe in Ecclesiastes 3. There is a season for everything, a time to live and a time to die. We all are going to have to die. Plenty of people have lost their mothers sooner than we have. We have to be grateful for the time we had with her when she was here. And remember the good times and believe that she has gone to a better place." Stacey said to him trying to minister to her brother in a time of both of their need.

Sam then began to think of his mother. How she had gotten pregnant with him at the tender age of sixteen. How her father, a preacher, demanded to know the name of the baby's father after he had discovered she was six months pregnant to make her marry him. His mother had never been close to her father; no one was. His congregation and his calling from God took him a way from his family. He had always demanded perfection in his kids, only paying attention to them when they misbehaved knowing that his congregation would think less of him if he couldn't discipline his own kids.

Mary so much wanted her father's attention and time because her mother was always busy with her four younger siblings. She was the third child out of seven and could never remember receiving any special treatment at home. So when she discovered boys, she began to find the attention and the love that she thought she was receiving and giving to them. She always chose guys who were older than her. All Sam knew about his father was that he was a college kid who worked at a music store that his mother often stopped by. When Mary told him that she was pregnant, he denied being the father calling her a whore who would spread her legs for any man.

His mother tried to hide the pregnancy but to no avail; her mother found out and told her father. Her father gave her the ultimatum of either marriage, or she was to be kicked out of his house. Since Sam's no excuse for a father denied that the baby was his, Mary had no choice but to leave home. She found a home for unwed mothers and gave birth to him three months later. She immediately became employed as a live in maid in the suburbs, and her employers offered room and board for Mary and her son. When Sam was old enough to go to school, his mother quit the job after saving up enough money to find a place of their own. They moved to the inner city and received public assistance until his mom got a good job working at a factory. At the factory, she met Stacey's father. She found out later on that he was a married man and would not acknowledge the baby she was carrying as his own. Heartbroken again, their mother turned to smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol to numb the pain. She was too poor to spend money on heavier drugs. She left the factory to have Stacey and decided not to return because of Stacey's father presence there. She soon found work at another factory and continued to work there.

Because of his mother's ill luck with the men in her life, many would expect her to mistreat Sam. She did the opposite. In her son, she found the one male who would always love her and never let her down. Also, he was the reason she didn't get involved in heavier drugs. She saw the effects that drugs were having on her neighbors' children, and her father had taught her better than that. His mother had been determined to make Sam's and Stacey's lives better than hers was. She stressed academics and made sure Sam was at home off the streets babysitting his sister instead of getting involved with gangs. He was a mama's boy through and through.

When Sam got older, his mother decided that he should get involved in sports to help keep her son off the streets. So, he joined the football team and put much of his energy in the sport and keeping his grades up. When he started to excel in football and baseball, his mother began to support him with every fiber of her being. During his senior year, many collegiate scouts came to check him out. Sam refused to go to any school that would not give him a loan to get his mother out of the projects and into a nice apartment in a safe neighborhood. The University of Memphis finally accepted his terms, and it was the happiest day of his young life when he presented his mother with the keys to their new home, which was closer to the school. Although Sam had a full athletic scholarship, his mother still had to work two jobs to pay the bills and make the car payments on their first car. She was always sending him care packages to school of the foods he liked to eat while putting the rest of her attention on Stacey.

However, one event on the field changed his future from being drafted into the NFL during his senior year of college. In the championship game, the other team was trying to use any method to stop him from passing the ball. They finally decided to all pile up on him during the third quarter. He heard his knee pop as the fifth almost 300 lb defensive end fell on top of his legs. He knew he was not getting up. They had to bring the stretcher to the field, and he was rushed to the emergency room. When he finally came out of heavy sedation for the tests that he went through, his first question to his mother was whether or not they won the game.

His mother told him how his knee was going to require surgery and how the doctors were skeptical that he would ever be able to play football again. At that moment, Sam felt all his hopes and dreams of taking care his mother and sister and living the good life were over. It was then that he started focusing on his books and knew that he was going to have to find another way of achieving his dreams of financial security. While having the surgery and going through rehabilitation, Sam began taking his classes as a business major seriously, and he later set out to take the corporate world by storm. He had heard of Donald Trump and other successful entrepreneurs, and he wanted to emulate their successes. Sam graduated with honors and began graduate school pursuing his MBA while teaching business education at a local high school. Fortunately for him, the university still remembered his glory days on the field and eased his path with internships and future employers because of the publicity he gave the school leading them to two championships and the final that they lost when he was injured.

Before Sam even graduated, he was offered a job with Chelsea, Maxwell, and Drakes. At CMD, he quickly rose from new employee to junior associate. When he turned thirty, he was making over $100,000 a year. His celebrity from his football career, his drive for money and success, and his charm gave him more and more successful accounts. Because of his success, Sam was able to buy his family a home in an upper middle class neighborhood while living in his own bachelor pad in the city. His mother continued to dote on him, and his sister benefited by having a great education at private schools and living in an environment that kept her from the gangs and violence that surrounded his youth.

Everything in Sam's life was going so well. Up until the night, he received a phone call from his sister who was home from college for her winter break. He was surprised and shocked when Stacey told him that their mother had fallen out after helping her get her luggage from the car. He told Stacey to call 911 and that he would meet them at the hospital. After a series of test, their mother was diagnosed with the advance stages of lung and liver cancer that was spreading throughout her entire body. There was nothing that Sam's wealth could do to save his mother's life. He spent a lot of his money sending Mary to different specialists trying to find a miracle.

During this traumatic time, his sister dropped out of her sorority and began attending Bible study and got involved with a bunch of Jesus freaks. He didn't discourage his sister's newfound faith even though he didn't too much care for it. He encouraged her thinking that religion was a crutch that she needed because he could not provide her with enough emotional support. His mother welcomed her daughter's faith and seemed to be more content whenever Stacey visited her and even was allowed to leave the hospice to attend Stacey's and Joe's wedding. Their wedding was the last happy memory he had of his mother, and he tried to cling to this memory instead of remembering his mother's body ravaged by the cancer.

Following his mother's death, something miraculous occurred that gave Sam a new lease on life. Eight months after his mother's death, Stacey delivered a seven pound and ten ounce healthy baby girl. She and Joe both decided to name her after Mary. They named her Maria Joy Hart because Mary's full name was Mary Jo Evans. Little Maria was showered with constant attention and love from her parents, her doting uncle, Joe's family, and the entire youth body of their congregation. Sam loved playing with her, buying her toys, and taking her to the park. Joe, Stacey, and Maria were his only known family, and he treasured spending time with them.

Although Sam took time to be with his family, he continued to work hard and make more and more money at CMB eventually becoming a vice president. However, because he could never be president or boss, he decided to start his own business. He built SEI from the ground up and worked day and night to make sure it was successful. Sam could not believe the thrill he felt when he was making money. It surpassed his desire for sex and even for eating. He had devoted himself to his goal and stayed focus and was now beginning to see the fruit of all of his labor. And finally after three years, he had made it to the top. He decided to take the family out to celebrate making his first million.

He told Stacey that he would pick Maria up from her grandparent's house since they lived closer to him and would meet them at the restaurant in an hour. He never imagined that he would feel the full spectrum of his emotions that day going from unbelievable heights to suicide causing lows. A drunk driver killed Stacey and Joe as soon as they got out of their car and were making their way toward the restaurant. Sam and Maria were already seated when they heard the commotion outside, and inexplicably Maria began to cry out "Mama, Daddy!"

They went to the window of the restaurant facing the street. That is when he saw both of them lying there bloodied and not moving. He wanted to cry out and shout, but he couldn't let Maria know what was happening. He had to stay strong for her, but it was if she was comforting him and not vice versa. He would not overreact for her sake.

He called Joe's parents and let them know to meet him at the hospital. Once at the hospital, memories of his mother's death kept replaying in his mind. He gave Maria over to her grandparents as soon as they arrived and went in search of anyone who could tell him about Joe's and Stacey's conditions. When he finally got in contact with someone, it was to be told that they were dead on arrival. Sam felt as if a giant tsunami had swept him off of his feet. He went into shock, anger, and then disbelief. The police came to tell them of how it was a hit and run, and the driver had been stopped later for weaving, and the officer had seen blood on the headlights. He was way over the legal limit for alcohol consumption and was arrested. Sam wanted to kill the criminal who had done this to his family. He must be cursed by God to suffer from all of these losses. It was right then that he gave up on God. He believed that if God couldn't save the lives of two of His servants who had only done His will for the majority of their lives, then He wasn't worth serving. Sam knew that blaming God alone would not make him feel better, so he blamed the drunk driver, Rick Nelson, who had taken the lives of those who he loved. Nelson was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced two life sentences with no chance of parole because Sam made it is his personal mission along with all of his contacts to make sure that Nelson never saw the light of day.

Because Joe and Stacey were so young, they thought they had forever to live and thought his parents, John and Denise would precede them in death. So, they left custody of their daughter to Stacey's only living relative who they knew loved her and could provide for her - him. At first, he was at a lost. How could he become a full-time parent to his niece and run his entire corporation? He knew he couldn't. That's when he decided it was time to leave Memphis and all of the haunting memories that dwelled there. Maria was three years old and could still remember her parents, and it took counseling for the both of them to deal with their grief.

No matter how hard Sam tried to use work to alleviate his profound grief, it would not work. Every time that he looked at Maria, he remembered his mother and sister. He had to leave Memphis and go to a place where nobody knew about what had happened. He was tired of people expressing their sorrow and giving him their condolences. By taking a pencil and closing his eyes, he picked the place of their new hometown Solon, Ohio, which was located near Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland was an excellent booming town and conveniently located near the interstate. He started packing up, making plans, and doing all that was needed to forge the new life that lay ahead for him and his niece. Sam was ready for a change, and he was willing to do all he could to give his niece a happier childhood.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer: Don't own anything but finally you have Samcedes if you were wondering when they would get together. Thanks for reviewing, favoriting, and following this story._**

Chapter Three

Finally the day that Mercedes Jones had been waiting for had arrived. She was anxious and curious. She had sent her resume and references to SEI expecting to be turned down for an interview. However not only did she receive an interview time, but she also was meeting the big boss himself, Sam Evans. She looked in the mirror double checking her appearance for the last time before she got in her car and drove the hour and thirty minutes drive to Columbus. She had remembered reading from some magazine that brown was the most relaxing color to wear to an interview. So, she wore her favorite brown suit with a white blouse underneath and brown low-heeled shoes. Mercedes decided to go with the minimum in makeup and accessories. One gold necklace with a cross, her gold watch, and gold earrings adorned the suit. She hadn't realized it, but the colors she wore emphasized her own eye color which was a mixture of brown and gold a smoky quartz color. She wore golden brown lipstick, bronze eye shadow, and finished off her look with mascara. Her medium length curly brown hair was gelled and put up in a bun with side bangs. She felt as attractive and sophisticated as she could possibly feel.

On the drive to Columbus, she couldn't help but be curious as to why Mr. Evans was interviewing her. In her letter of application, she did not think that she had put anything in it to distinguish herself from all the other applicants. Mercedes had researched Mr. Evans and knew of his tragic past and saw pictures of him and wonder why his wife was never mentioned. Maybe she didn't like the spotlight Mercedes thought. She knew he had custody of his niece, and maybe he wanted to keep them both out of the media glare that probably hounded the family for interviews because of the tragedy that had happened.

Mercedes was amazed at how quickly she had driven to Columbus when she pulled herself out of her thoughts about her interview and began to concentrate back on her driving. She needed to be ready to convince one of the most astute businessmen in America that her under-qualified self was the best person for his company. When Mercedes arrived at SEI interviewing site at a quarter till ten, she was fifteen minutes early. She told the receptionist that she was there for her interview, and while she waited for her appointed time, Mercedes put a mint in her mouth to freshen her breath, she reviewed her portfolio, and she practiced answering traditional interview questions in her mind.

Sam had been looking out of his window when he saw Ms. Jones get out of her car. From the distance, she reminded him of his sister in that fact that she was short. When Stacey was young, she wanted to play basketball and was a bit of tomboy because she played with her older brother. Stacey had always complained that she wasn't tall like her brother but was small and delicate like their mother. However, Stacey and Sam both had also inherited their mother's green eyes, which was the only resemblance he shared with his mother and little sister. She was a blonde like his mother, and his hair was more tawny brown with a few blond highlights left over from the summer sun.

"Mr. Evans, Ms. Jones is here to see you for her ten o'clock interview." His receptionist announced in her thick southern accented voice breaking his thought pattern.

"Show her up and tell her I will be out to meet her in ten minutes." Sam told her. He had been delighted to find the maternal looking lady from referrals from the Ohio Department of Labor. Jamie was fifty-seven years old and had a youthful style and demeanor. She had thirty years of experience at working at a local high school and had decided to come back to work because of the high costs of medicine and medical care.

Ten minutes later, Sam went outside his office to show Ms. Jones in. It was then that he realized that although she might have shared a similar height with his sister, Ms. Jones did not resemble Stacey in any other way. She was a very voluptuous woman and not fat or muscular but just soft, healthy, and curvy. She had the most luscious and thick lips he could remember seeing. The top lip was slightly fuller than the lower lip. Her eyes were very exotic. They were doe eyes and appeared almost like burnished brown flames in their intensity. Her dark skin appeared to be an equal mixture of copper, gold, and dark brown hues, and she reminded him of an African princess in the way she carried herself with dignity and grace. She wasn't super-model gorgeous, but she was sexy, exotic, and in one word "dynamite".

When he shook her hand, Sam felt a tingle reach his spine. He almost had forgotten why the both of them were standing there. He could never remember having such an immediate attraction and desire for a woman who he really didn't know. After observing her staring at him, he motioned her over to where she was to sit, and he sat at his desk across from her to separate them, so he could clear his mind. He had read her paperwork and really wanted to know why she had chosen SEI for a job. She obviously had counseling and teaching experience but not any business experience at all. She was also young. He didn't hold her youth against her. One of her references mentioned how responsible and dedicated she was and how she had only quit her job to tend to her ailing mother and was now trying to find employment to help pay for her mother's surgery. He was thinking of giving her an entry level position in personnel. She had a master's degree and was used to working with people. He needed someone to help with the interviewing and hiring. He began to explain this to her when she asked about the available position.

"That sounds like a position that I could be very effective in. Please excuse me for being up front, but I am desperately in need of a job that has a higher salary. Right now, I can't afford to live off that salary because my mom is in dire need of an operation. I need to have a salary that the bank would feel confident in loaning me the money that I need. They told me I needed a co-signer or verification of employment making a certain amount per month because I still owe around thirty thousand in college loans." Mercedes told him trying to convince him by working his heartstrings to give her a better paying job. Maybe she needed to add tears to her appeal or would that make her appear weak she thought?

"There is a problem with giving you a managerial job. You have no experience. I know that you are bright and could probably learn my job in six months and be capable, but other people have worked longer, and harder, plus they have experience. I couldn't justify giving you a higher level position." Sam told her in response to her candid appeal. He was trying to think of a way to get what both of them wanted. He really liked what he saw on paper and in front of him, and he wanted to make sure that he would get to see her again without any bitterness between them.

"Okay, I figured that you wouldn't take the risk and give me the job that I needed, so I thought of another proposition. Many executive secretaries make good salaries as personal assistants to the president of million dollar corporations. I was thinking that you could hire me as your PA. I have been researching your company, and I really think that I would be a great addition to your team." Mercedes told him refusing to give up easily.

Sam thought about this proposal but immediately rejected it. Sure, she was smart, bright, and ambitious. However, could she totally concentrate on the job when her mother was recovering from surgery and would she agree to hiring someone who she semi-trusted to stay with her mom while she worked? Her mom had almost died from complications of a past surgery. He could not take the risk especially mixed with his intense attraction for her. He wouldn't be able to keep his mind on business while working closely to her every day. He frowned on office romances and their negative ramifications; also, too many sexual harassment suits were happening. He would just have to turn her down without offending her.

"I have been thinking of your suggestion, but once again, I have to refuse you. I can't have you as my personal assistant. You and I both know you only want to work for me because there is no other corporation that will hire you and offer as much pay. Let's just be honest. Don't you want to be with your mother during and after her surgery? You won't have earned enough sick time and holiday time to be with your mother when she needs you the most. You have sacrificed so much for her already." He told her watching the disbelief in her eyes, and then the understanding dawning in. Before she could refute him, Sam went on with his proposal to her.

"I am willing to make you another offer. I lost my mother through a short battle with terminal cancer, and I know how you are feeling. I am willing to donate the money for your mother's surgery; all you have to do is go out on a date with me." Sam said almost disbelieving himself for sounding like a jackass.

"I don't see a wedding ring on your finger, but I thought a man your age would be married or at least involved in a serious relationship. I am sorry, but my dates and my body are not for sale." Mercedes told him rising out of the chair to leave the office before she stuck her foot further down her throat or kicked him in a place that the sun didn't shine.

"Sit down, Ms. Jones. I am sorry if you thought I was trying to barter sex or dates for the money. It's a tax write off for me, a donation that won't cost me anything. However, I do apologize for my lack of tact. I will be honest with you. I find you very attractive and that is why I asked you for the date not because it was contingent with the offer of the money; it just came out wrong. Furthermore not only am I single, but I am also not involved in a relationship with anyone at this time." Sam explained to her trying to calm her down.

"Well, I don't accept charity from anyone that I personally do not know. My mother is not in a life or death situation, so I can't take money from an absolute stranger. People will wonder where I got the money from, and they might add one and one and get four. Thanks for the offer. I just can't take your money." She told him trying to convince herself as much as convince him of that fact. She was attracted to him but not that naïve. He was a millionaire possible billionaire, single, and sexy, but she still didn't know anything about him only what he wanted the press to know.

"Okay, how about I loan you the money. You can get a job and pay me back." He suggested still trying to find a solution to the mess he had gotten himself stuck in.

"I don't know if I could get a job unless it was with you after my mom recovered. I just wouldn't feel comfortable because you are someone who I really don't know." Mercedes said unable to explain the uneasiness she was feeling in his presence.

He got up and walked around to her chair and then whispered, "How about taking the opportunity to get to know me better before you make your final decision?"

Mercedes felt goose bumps crawl on her skin at the smell of him, the appreciation of his towering masculine frame, those mesmerizing green eyes, and that deep melodic voice. She felt the cross on her neck which gave her the perfect excuse. "I am sorry I should have told you this earlier in the interview, but I didn't think it was relevant to any thing regarding my performance as your employee. I am a Christian. I don't believe in casual sex. I believe in courtship with the intention to marry. I don't know what your religious beliefs are. I don't know anything about you. So, maybe you can understand why I doubt there could be any hope for us romantically. I don't go to first base, second base, third base or all the way with any man unless marriage is a possibility." Mercedes told him hoping to make him see that the only way she was going to get any money out of him was if he gave her a job. She was not leaving there without one. She couldn't come this close and fail. Besides she knew that most men, who were single as long as he was, ran away from women who wanted a wedding ring. He was probably used to women throwing themselves at him because of his good looks and his money.

Listening to Mercedes' speech reminded Sam of his sister in such a strong way. He noticed the gold cross, similar to one that Stacey wore. He decided to learn more about her to determine if she was like his sister. She could be just what the doctor ordered in more ways than one.

"I am curious about your beliefs. Will you tell me more? You remind me of someone, and I want to know for truly professional reasons." Sam told her making his way back to his seat to put an appropriate distance between them.

After Mercedes explained her life and her beliefs, Sam realized how similar she was to his sister. Ideas began to shoot through his brain. This was the perfect arrangement he thought as he tried to work out his proposition. The perfect solution if she would agree. Scratch that he would make her agree. He had way more to gain than to lose if his job offer was accepted.

"Ms. Jones your faith and history remind me a lot of my sister Stacey. She was involved in her campus ministry and later married Joe a youth minister. A drunk driver killed her and her husband. They had a daughter. She was named after my mom whom I told you about. Her name is Maria, and she is almost four years old. I need someone to become her nanny. To teach her, love her, and help her cope with the situation. I see by your transcript that you have had a number of counseling classes. I also notice that you have a great reference from a couple who you provided childcare for. I am going to offer you another type of job completely outside of the business world in which you have no experience and that of a job that I think you are highly qualified for based on your education and experience and that is of my nanny. I will pay you the going rates for highly qualified nannies. This is a six-figure salary. It would solve both of our problems. Don't you think?" He asked her confident that it was an offer she couldn't refuse.

Before Mercedes gave him her answer, she asked for a few moments to think about it. She could be a nanny. Her heart already went out to the little girl. Even though she preferred babies and not toddlers, she was willing to provide childcare for Sam's niece because the little girl had lost both of her parents at such a young age. The child obviously needed a woman's touch if all she had was her uncle to give her comfort. She would take the job; it would solve all her dilemmas. She decided to tell him so.

Sam was so glad that she agreed to the job without understanding everything that the job entailed. He knew her Christian heart would go out to the child, and she needed the money. He couldn't wait to see the expression on her face when she found out the conditions. Her living with him could only help her get to know him and trust him. Before she knew it, he would have her exactly where he wanted her to be. Mercedes interrupted his thought process by asking him when he would need her to start.

"You can begin next week. I think it's imperative that she gets to know you the sooner the better. That will also give you enough time to pack and move into our home." Sam explained trying to keep the smugness from his eyes and mouth.

"I want to believe that you are joking, but I have a strong feeling you are not. I thought I could work for you from seven to seven and be with my mother at night. I can't live with you. That is out of the question. I have a reputation to think about." Mercedes told him trying to get him to change his mind.

"Of course, your mother will be living with us on the ground floor. She wouldn't be able to navigate the stairs. The lower level is also where Maria sleeps. You will have that level to yourselves. Since I will be living on the third floor, the second floor is the only floor that we will share. I am sure you won't be able to find another job that will allow you to have your mother on the job as well as be able to take care of her. Besides, your mother would make the perfect chaperone and a good grandmother figure for Maria." Sam explained liking the idea more and more as it came to him in a sudden burst of inspiration.

"Fine, you had better make up the contract fast before I have time to change my mind." Mercedes joked, but she was serious as well. She would have to keep her eyes opened around Mr. Evans. He was smooth and as intelligent as Mercedes, and maybe the first worthy opponent she had ever encountered who could challenge her lightning fast thinking and manipulating skills.

Laughing aloud, Sam told her, "I will have the contract ready before lunch if you don't mind waiting for about thirty minutes."

Mercedes was shocked to see that the time had passed by so quickly. They had been in his office for almost two hours, and it felt like minutes. The knowledge of this proved to be very disconcerting to her. Her mother would be wondering about what was going on, so she excused herself and used her cell phone to call her mother to reassure her that she had been offered a job and would be home in about two hours.

When she returned to his office, Sam was printing out the contracts while reading over his first copy. She watched him and noticed that his light brown hair with blond highlights enticed her fingers to run through it to mess up its expensive style. He had the biggest mouth and lips that she had ever seen on a white man. Instead of detracting from his facial beauty, it only made him appear more attractive. He was also tall and muscular. He obviously worked out a lot to keep that body in the same condition it was in when he played college football. He was a gorgeous specimen of manhood, and Mercedes knew that she was going to have guard her heart while living with him. She had to make sure there was no way possible that she could fall for his lethal brand of charm. Hopefully, she will not have that much contact with him. From his description, his home sounded like a mansion, and she would probably hardly ever see him. Mercedes was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Sam was handing over the papers for her to read and sign.

"Ms. Jones, Ms. Jones." Sam said trying to break her out her reverie. He wondered what was occupying her mind so. He hoped that she hadn't changed her mind. He touched her arm to get her attention. Once again, he felt an inexplicable tingle. To fight his desire to want to touch more of her soft appealing skin, he teased her by saying, "A penny for your thoughts."

"I am sorry. I was just thinking about how fast this is all going, and how I couldn't expect to be in this situation in my wildest imaginings." Mercedes told him disturbed by his touch but trying to hide the effect he had on her. She took the papers from his hand and read them. After only finding one inconsistency that she needed clearing up, she posed her next questions: "What are the other duties as assigned?"

"That is just a clause I put in all my contracts to make sure my employees don't say and have grounds for breaking the contract if an emergency happens or something unexpected arises." Sam informed her.

"Well, only if you can pen in that if they are legal, moral, and absolutely necessary, will I sign the contract. I don't want to go into anything half-cocked." She replied.

"Okay, I will write that in and initial the changes and you initial them as well when you sign the contract." Sam relented not about to go into battle with her and risk having her not accept the job. A great weight seemed to be removed from his chest when she signed the contract. He wanted to seal the agreement with a kiss but settled for a handshake knowing that she would probably rip the contract up if he attempted to taste those exquisite lips.

Mercedes felt him looking at her lips and wondered if her lipstick had come off. She self-consciously licked them and watched with amazement as something feral leaped into his eyes. She knew it was time to go, or she wouldn't be able to convince herself to trust him if she took the job. He could remain attracted to her. It took two to tango. And she didn't know how to tango. Most importantly, she trusted herself. Mercedes told him goodbye and that he could reach her at the number on her letter of application. She left the office in record speed only pausing to tell the receptionist goodbye.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Glee characters depicted in this chapter. I also would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to review, favorite, and/or follow this story. It is my first K rated fiction, so please bear with me if you are used to my other stories; this story will have romance eventually but a lot of drama must first occur don't give up on me. For Sam it is love/lust at first sight, but Mercedes is saying she ain't got time for that, so bear with me when the chapters are Samcedes light.**_

Chapter Four

Sam knew precisely at that moment that his moving to Ohio was the best thing that had happened to him in years. He couldn't wait to get home to his niece and tell her about her new caregiver. He gave Jamie the rest of the afternoon off. She gazed at him curiously, because since she had begun working for him, she had never seen him in such a good mood. When he arrived home to his spacious home on twenty acres of land, he was delighted that he found good contractors to build the three-story mansion in less than a year's time. It was made out of gray stone and appeared to be palatial. The house did indeed remind him of a fairy tale castle much different from his condo because the design of the home was Maria's choice. She said she would feel like a princess in it. She called the lake her moat. She had a pony, and he had two thoroughbred horses. At first Maria was upset because she didn't want to leave her grandparents and church family, now she was finally growing accustomed to living in Ohio. She seemed to prefer the silence of the country as much as he did. Plus, he was home a lot more with her than in the past.

"Honey, I am home!" He yelled as soon as he opened the door. He waited until he began to hear the small sounds of her tiny feet running to greet him. Then, Sam picked her up and gave her a hug and a kiss. Nothing in his life felt better than when he came home and was able to give and receive the love and affection he needed from his sweet niece.

"Guess what Uncle Sam?" She asked and continued not waiting for him to answer her in childlike impatience. "I helped Sally make our lunch. Come on let's go eat." She said eager to show him her accomplishments.

"Okay, I need to wash up first on the way to the kitchen, but I promise to be quick." He told her as they went down the hall to the bathroom. He couldn't wait to see what Sally their housecleaner/cook had helped Maria make for lunch.

After lunch, he began to tell Maria about Mercedes Jones. She was happy to have someone new to play with and all of her questions centered on fun and not education. He just realized just how lonely she must have been during the past couple of weeks. Sure she was online and saw her grandparents as much as she wanted thanks to Skype, Google Talk, and FaceTime - technology bridged the gap of distance, but human contact especially a young woman's could be the thing that would win Maria's heart completely over towards her new home. They talked about the changes that were about to occur and then decided to go horseback riding to work off that delicious lunch of corn chowder that Maria had helped Sally prepare by shucking corn with Sally earlier that morning.

* * *

Mercedes got of her car and sped inside to give her mother the news. Her mother was waiting for lunch, which Mercedes was smart enough to order from the drive thru window on the way home. After her mother asked how the interview went, Mercedes said, "I have some good news and some not so good news. Which do you want to hear first?" She asked her mom.

"The good news of course, child we have had enough bad news to last two lifetimes." Pearl said hoping her stress level was not about to increase; she couldn't tolerate having to take another stress test at the local hospital.

"Well, the good news is that I got a job. The bad news is that it is not the type of job I expected. I will make enough money for your surgery and be able to be with you while you recover." Mercedes paused trying to gauge her mother's reaction so far. "We are going to have to move to the job's location and that will be at Mr. Evans' home in Solon." Before she could tell her mother any more details, her mother interrupted her.

"You haven't agreed to sleep with him for the money have you? Girl, I know you said you would do anything for the job, but you have just gotten carried away. I will not have you prostitute yourself like that. I would rather die first!" Pearl couldn't stop from guessing what was so bad about the job, and her guesses were not positive.

"Calm down mom, or you will need to have a heart operation, too. I know you think I am crazy, but I am not that crazy." Mercedes tried to calm down her mom. She didn't know why her mom would jump to such a wild conclusion. She tried to explain to her mother some of the things that had happened during her interview.

"Oh," Pearl replied after realizing that she had jumped to a quick conclusion. "Tell me more."

"Do you remember several months ago when we were looking at Entertainment Tonight and saw how much a nanny of the rich and famous earn?" Mercedes asked her mom. Hoping she could remember some of the impressive salaries superstars' nannies made.

Mercedes continued after watching her mother nod in agreement, "Mr. Evans' niece has lost both her parents at such a young age and has had to move to a new state. I feel compelled to take the job to help her and be there for her, and you know I have tons of experience with kids. Also, the money is more money that I would be making at any other job, and we won't have to pay any bills besides my car note and our insurances. We, along with his niece, will have the entire ground level of Mr. Evans' home to ourselves. He will be on the third floor, so we would rarely see him."

"Well, that sounds as if all my prayers have been answered. All we have to do now is call Dr. Rogers and schedule my surgery." Pearl said feeling a wave of relief wash through her.

"Mom, I am going to call him right now to schedule everything." Mercedes said as she went to her room to retrieve the number. Dr. Rogers returned her call after she had been put on hold for several minutes and after she had left a message with the doctor's medical secretary. When Mercedes heard back from the doctor, he had told her without hesitating about what had held him up. He had received a phone call from a Mr. Sam Evans, and after talking to Mr. Evans, the highly esteemed surgeon had immediately cleared his appointments and was immediately on his way to Columbus for her mother's first appointment. After getting all the details faxed to them that afternoon, she and Pearl were supposed to be packed and ready to leave at five in the morning. Although grateful, Mercedes felt like calling Mr. Evans and giving him a piece of her mind.

However, she knew that would not change a thing. She signed a contract to begin work next week, and Mr. Evans was making sure everything went as scheduled. Besides when they returned, she didn't have to pack the entire house to take over to the Evans' residence. She would just bring clothes and personal stuff and come back when she needed extra stuff even bringing Maria with her to get her out of the house.

"Mom, we have to start packing now. Mr. Evans called Dr. Rogers, and he is flying to Columbus tomorrow to examine you and do pre-operation stuff because the X rays and doctors' notes and case histories may be missing something. Dr. Rogers is using the laser technique that he developed, and you should be like new in half the time that it took for you to recover from your past surgeries. If everything goes as planned, you will be operated on Wednesday and released on Saturday or Sunday." Mercedes explained trying to stay calm and get her mother moving to help out.

"What did you do to that man to get this kind of perk?" Her mother asked now suspicious of Mr. Evans' generosity.

"Mom, he offered me the money without the job because his mother died of cancer at a young age, and I could tell our circumstances caused him to have sympathy for us. I told him my life's story, and he said I reminded him of his sister. Who knows why he is being this kind? Maybe he is a philanthropist like Oprah Winfrey." She told her mother to keep her from discovering everything about Mr. Evans and his reaction to her. She didn't want to worry her mom or look a gift horse in its mouth, as she would have done in the past.

"Okay, I still believe that there is something more than what you are not telling me about, but I am sure I will find out sooner not later. Let's get the show on the road." Pearl said knowing that worrying about the situation would not change it. The Lord would take care of them just as He always did. She had to remember to keep her trust in Him, and not worry.

When she woke up at five the next day, Mercedes was surprised to feel energized. Normally, she hated waking up in the mornings. She showered, fixed her hair in a ponytail, and dressed comfortably for the trip ahead and the long day ahead. As soon as she stepped outside, she saw that her SUV was missing, and in its normal place was a van that was appropriate for physically disabled occupants. She knew without reading the note that Sam Evans had written it. Mercedes felt like driving out to his house and demanding her Trailblazer back. Then, she realized it would be hard for mother to get in and out of the high vehicle after her surgery. She was too busypacking last night to think of that detail. She read the letter and was surprised at its contents.

**Sorry, I can't see the expression on your face right now. But I knew if I offered you the use of the van, you would have refused. Your SUV is at my house and all you have to do is come straight here from the hospital. The van should be able to fit most of your stuff. Maria said to tell you she will be praying for your mother. I can't wait to see you again, and Maria can't wait to meet the both of you. Call me if you need anything at all.**

_**Sam Evans **_

After reading the letter and realizing her mother must have given the key to her automobile to whichever rental place had provided the van, Mercedes finished loading up the van with their belongings, and they were soon buckled in and ready to go. To her surprise her mom was not being her talkative self Mercedes noticed as she headed out of Lima.

"Mom, are you worried about the operation?" Mercedes finally gave in and asked after being on the road for thirty minutes and was comfortable driving on the interstate.

"I am trying not to worry, but I can't help to think how different everything is going to be. Instead of returning home, I will be in some stranger's house." Pearl admitted to her daughter.

"Mom is only natural for you to be concerned about the future. Your lifestyle is going to change as a result of the operation. If you are not content living with the Evans family, I am sure we can get at least one of your former foster children to agree to move in the house with you if you want to be in your house that badly." Mercedes reassured her mom. She didn't know her mom was having reservations about moving to the Evans' home. She thought her mother had thought it was a great idea.

"I don't know right now what I want. I think I am concentrating on my future living arrangements so that I won't have to think about the surgery." Pearl confessed to her daughter.

"It is only natural for you to be concerned about the operation. You don't have to hide anything from me. I will try my best to understand and comfort you the best way I can." Mercedes told her mom. The two talked for a while about the Evans' family, and Mercedes could already see the social worker coming out of her mom. Even though she was retired, she hadn't lost her ability to care about children who were suffering from mental, physical, or spiritual distress. As they talked, Mercedes saw that her mom's eyes began to droop. Soon her mother had fallen asleep, and Mercedes began to play her favorite CD and sing along trying to clear her mind of all the things that she could be worrying about.

As soon as Mercedes made it to Columbus, Pearl began to wake up. Mercedes talked to her mom while she drove the van into the city. Fifteen minutes later, they had arrived at the hospital. It took ten minutes to unload Pearl and help her into the hospital. Mercedes was unfamiliar with Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and they made their way into the waiting area after signing in to let Dr. Rogers know that Pearl was there.

Dr. Rogers came out, led them to a consultation room he was borrowing, and greeted them since he had no patients scheduled because he was only there to provide medical services for Pearl. The doctor tried to put Pearl at ease by making remarks about finally having faces to go with the emails and phone conversations. He went to check out Pearl and then sent her to have X-rays, MRI, and bone density scan completed. While waiting on the results, Mercedes and her mom went to eat lunch, and then she helped Pearl with filling out the tons of paperwork that was required. By the time Dr. Rogers finally emerged from the office he was using, it was almost four o'clock. He gave them the good news that the surgery would be able to correct alignment of her bones causing less friction and reducing the pain of arthritis, rheumatism, and/or bursitis. Also, he told them that the surgery would take four hours, and he had it scheduled for six a.m. He ended the conversation by telling them that Pearl's room was ready for her. Mercedes was going to spend the night in the room, sleeping in the reclining chair after being offered a tiny cot that didn't look too comfortable. The two were exhausted from the marathon packing, traveling, and going through everything Pearl had to go through to be admitted into the hospital so sleep came early to them both that night.

Mercedes was allowed in her mother's room while the nurses prepared her for surgery the next day. After kissing her goodbye moments before the surgery, Mercedes watched as the orderlies and nurses wheeled Pearl down the hall at seven thirty that morning. It was after eleven o'clock when Mercedes finally was able to see her mother who was being wheeled back to the room. She decided to go to lunch to give the nurses' time to get Pearl in the room and set her up for monitoring and recovery.

It was one o'clock by the time Mercedes made it back to the room, and Pearl was just about to get the nurse to go look for her. She was amazed that her mom looked so robust and healthy and not tired at all from the surgery. Pearl was hurting from having lain on her side for too long and the nurse told her how to use the morphine drip. Dr. Rogers came by after he had cleaned up and told them that the surgery was successful and that he was leaving Pearl under the care of another doctor who had assisted him with the surgery. He told them that he was on his way back home, and they all shook hands, and the doctor left her to her mother who was falling asleep due to the pain medicine.

The following day met Mercedes with surprises. She did not expect to see a dozen of roses and a get well card from Maria and Sam Evans for her mother. The hospital released Pearl on Sunday and after eating lunch and repacking the van, Pearl and Mercedes headed to the Evans' home. Mercedes had called him and thanked him and Maria for the roses and card. And she talked to Maria for the first time telling her that they would be there in two and a half hours, and that her and her mother couldn't wait to meet her.

* * *

Sam was so relieved to hear Mercedes' voice on the telephone. He actually missed her more than he could remember missing someone he had only met once. He had to stop himself from calling her knowing that it wouldn't be welcome. He couldn't wait for her arrival in the hours to come. He knew he shouldn't pressure her on her first day knowing what she must have gone through during the surgery. She would need some rest. He was relieved when Dr. Rogers called him and told him about the success of the operation. It was as if it was his mother on the operating table.

Sam thought he would just help Mercedes with getting her mother settled in her new room, and then, give her the mini tour when she returned with all of their belongings. He would make sure Maria gave them some privacy time. He was feeling like some lovesick fool. He knew he had better get over this, or she would pick up on it and leave before the week was out. Sam decided to go riding with Maria thinking that it would take his mind temporarily off their new nanny.

When the two Jones' ladies finally arrived, he didn't know who was more excited Maria or himself. While her mother was getting settled in the bed, Sam took Mercedes with Maria trailing along upstairs showing her the kitchen and dining area on the second floor and was about to give her the complete tour when she begged off to postpone it until later because she was anxious to get everything they needed removed from the van and into the house as soon as possible.

Mercedes had finally gotten the courage to ask her former foster sisters to help. Asking for help was something that Mercedes was uncomfortable doing, but she knew that there would be little time to begin a new job, help care for her mom, and try to move into a new living space, so she had asked Sheila and her husband and Shadonza to help out. These two had benefited the most from staying with the Jones' family and had excitedly agreed to and were willing to pack everything up and Mercedes had stopped by and was able with their help to load everything that Pearl and Mercedes would need for their first month living with the Evans' family. They were excited to see Mother Pearl after her surgery, and her mother was glad to see them and to get to see her house again because she knew it would be a while before she would be able to return to her home in Lima.

Mercedes thanked Maria for the flowers and even allowed the little girl to help Sam and herself unload the van. Maria was a blonde haired, green haired, pixie of a child who strongly resembled a young Hayden Panettiere. She was surprisingly unspoiled and quite helpful not getting in the way. She agreed to keep an eye out on Pearl for Mercedes while Mercedes got her belongings situated in her temporary bedroom, and Mercedes was not surprised to find Pearl and Maria taking a nap when she entered Pearl's bedroom. Mercedes quietly placed everything that Pearl would need in the room, and then went into the kitchen to prepare a light meal for herself and her mother. She was surprised to find that Sam was notaround, but she was also grateful. There was much they would need to talk about, but after today, Mercedes just wanted to eat her meal, feed her mom and give her mom her medications, and then get Maria, Pearl, and herself settled for a good night's sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Glee characters depicted in this chapter. I also would like to once again thank everyone who has taken the time to review, favorite, and/or follow this story, you don't have to be so supportive, but your support inspires me and pushes me through rereading and rewriting each chapter to try to improve on my original work that I published on Tumblr.**_

Chapter Five

Mercedes woke the next morning to the sound of a light knock on her door. She quickly checked the clock and realized it was already eight a.m. Her mother and Maria were probably wondering where she was. "So much for starting the first day off on the right foot," Mercedes told herself as she got out of her bed. She had yet to put all her duties on a daily schedule. Mercedes had thought she would do this in the hospital while her mother rested, but her mother was uncomfortable and did not get much sleep. Last night, she thought she would be able to do it again. Yet to no avail, she was up to two unpacking and getting settled in. Oh well, Mercedes said to herself as she put on her housecoat and went to open the door.

"Good morning, Ms. Jones. Uncle Sam left a note for you when we were eating breakfast this morning before he went to work." Maria told her as she handed Mercedes the note and looked around the room that was drastically changed since Mercedes moved in last night.

"Why don't you sit down or just look around at my stuff while I read the note okay." Mercedes suggested as she read the note relieved to find out that he didn't expect for her to work as Maria's nanny this week but to take care her of mother and get to know Maria and Sally, their cook/housekeeper, who was there everyday until six o'clock. He would be home at that time as well for dinner. When she finished reading the note, Mercedes let out a sigh of relief. She decided to go check on her mother and fixed her some breakfast before the visiting nurse scheduled arrival. She wondered what Maria was going to do this morning, so she asked the cute little girl who looked nothing like her uncle except for having his green eyes. She was a beautiful little girl. Maria shyly told her that she was there once again to be her helper.

"Well, the first thing I need to do is check on my mother before I take a shower and put on some clothes. Do you want to come with me?" Mercedes asked while searching for her bedroom slippers.

"Okay," was her little charge's reply as they both headed out the door to the next room down the hall. Maria knocked on the door, and they both entered the room when they heard Pearl say, "Come in".

"How are you feeling this morning mama?" Mercedes questioned her mother why looking for any signs of discomfort and unease. Her mother appeared to be doing all right, so she wouldn't have to worry about upsetting Maria.

"I am doing fine. I was a bit restless trying to get use to this new bed. I declare I am feeling mighty hungry right now. When are you going to bring me my breakfast and coffee?" Looking for a breakfast tray and not seeing or smelling one prompted Pearl to ask this question.

"I just woke up mom. I had a late night. The nurse should be here at ten, so we have time to get you fed and dressed by then. I have an assistant to help me with you this week. You remember your sleeping partner in crime Maria don't you?" Distracting her mother with this question, Mercedes decided to take a quick shower and leave Maria with her and then come back with breakfast.

"You know I remember this beautiful child from yesterday. How are you doing this morning young lady?" Sweetening her voice, Pearl had tons of experience with little ones and didn't want to scare the girl. Sometimes children got scared of old folks, and she didn't want to frighten the little girl who had already suffered from too much pain.

"I am fine. I prayed for you while you were gone to have your surgery. I am so glad that you are alright." Maria said shocking the two adults with her vocabulary and excellence of speech. Mercedes wondered if the child could read given how verbal she was proving to be.

"Well mom, I am leaving you in the capable hands of my assistant. I will get your coffee and breakfast. You try to sit up on your own." Mercedes ordered as she left the room to hurry to get dressed and began her morning duties.

By the time her mother was fed, bathed, and dressed, the nurse had arrived to handle all of Pearl's outpatient concerns. Mercedes decided to use the time that she had free from taking care of her mother to get to know Sally while the lady cleaned the kitchen. Sam had told Sally that he was hiring a nanny and that her mother would be living at the house as well. Sally was obviously curious about Mercedes and Pearl and vice versa. Mercedes did her best to put her at ease. She told her about her mother and how she was the new nanny and would begin officially working next week. Two nurses and a physical therapist and physical therapist assistant would be visiting her mother. The RN and physical therapist would come twice a week, the physical therapist assistant would come three days a week, and a certified nurse assistant would come Monday to Friday to clean her mother's room and bathroom that the both of them shared. Mercedes would prepare her own and her mother's meals and would do their shopping. Sally's cold reserve seemed to melt a little when she realized that their arrival would not make her job any more difficult. It would actually make hers easier now that she wouldn't have to see about Maria while she worked during the day.

* * *

The first bonding activity that Mercedes decided to do with Maria was to have the girl take her on the tour of the estate. As Maria showed her around the ground level and the second level, they talked about each others' likes and dislikes. They both liked watching cartoon movies, music, and cooking. Then, the two decided after the tour and giving Pearl her lunch, they would watchmovies. Their first day together was spent getting comfortable with one another. Mercedes knew it would take time for Maria to trust her and open up to her, so she decided to spend the week with Maria building their relationship by playing games together, cooking together, and taking care of Pearl.

When Sam returned home from work, he was surprised to see how quiet the house was. He met Sally leaving in her car when he drove up to the gate. He expected to hear Maria running to the door ready to give him his hug and kiss. He said, "Honey, I am home." and waited for their evening ritual for several minutes to no avail. Well, she must be busy with her new housemates was his initial assessment of the situation. He proceeded to go wash up for supper. Sam was shocked to see his tiny niece in a dishrag for an apron helping to serve his favorite dinner of lasagna, green salad, and strawberry cheesecake.

"Uncle Sam, Ms. Cedes helped Sally make your favorite meal. She told me I could help by serving it to you." Maria explained when she had seated him and given him his napkin. Mercedes didn't want the little girl calling her Ms. Jones which felt too cold especially when she was not even serving in her official position as nanny until the following week. So, she told Maria to call her by her first name and Ms. Mercedes was too much even for the talkative tot to pronounce, so they both compromised with the little girl calling her Ms. Cedes.

"Well, everything looks delicious. How come there are only two places set?" Sam asked Mercedes when she came out of the kitchen and noticed that the table wouldn't be filled tonight.

"Mother had already eaten supper, and since we eat the same thing because we are on the same diet I decided to have dinner with her. I asked Sally and Maria what were your favorite foods, and we fixed it for you in order to thank you for all you have done for my mother and me. I am going to go sit with mother and get her ready for the night." Mercedes explained.

Before leaving the dining area, Mercedes also reminded Maria that she would be reading her a bedtime story before she went to sleep that night. Mercedes left the room before Sam could detain her any longer.

"Goodnight." Sam called out after her and decided to question Maria on her day with the Joneses. By the time they had eaten supper and put everything in the dishwasher, it was already seven o'clock. Sam knew that Maria's bedtime was at eight, so he decided to allow her to use the tablet that he had purchased for her to Skype and tell her grandparents about her new caregiver. When they finished catching up, Maria ran out the room after giving him a goodnight kiss eager to be read to by Ms. Jones. The house was fuller than it had ever been, and he never felt so alone. To combat his loneliness, Sam decided to do some work which was his normal schedule anyhow. Keeping busy to keep the pain of the memories he had held at bay was second nature to him. He usually worked after Maria had been tucked into bed, and he was certain she wouldn't need to get up for water or to use the bathroom.

Downstairs, Mercedes read to Maria one of her favorite bedtime stories. Afterwards, Maria reached out for a hug, and Mercedes hugged her as they prayed together. When they finished praying, it was almost eight thirty, and Maria instantly went to sleep.

Mercedes left her and went to go check on her mother. She talked to her about the house (after the tours of the estate, Mercedes didn't know if house was the right term to describe the property—fairy tale castle without the moat but with a gorgeous lake was more like it), Maria, Sally, and the nurse and physical therapist who had visited that day. She gave her mother her nighttime medicine and went to her own room after watching her mom fall asleep twenty minutes after taking the pain meds. For the first time in a long time, she really had nothing to do. Watching television and reading books had lost their appeal because she was physically as well as mentally exhausted. The next thing Mercedes knew she glanced at the clock and noticed that it was six o'clock thirty minutes before her alarm was set to go off to wake her up. She felt better after getting all those hours of uninterrupted sleep, and she immediately got up, took a shower, dressed, and decided to go outside and take a walk.

As soon as she got to the door, she heard a voice calling her name. "Ms. Jones, Ms. Jones." Only one person in the household called her that and that was Sam Evans.

She wanted to ignore him and go out and continue her walk, but common courtesy prevailed. How was she going to stop him from following her anyhow? "Yes, Mr. Evans, how can I be of service to you?" She turned around saying surprised to see him in his jogging outfit.

"I was about to go for my morning jog, and I was wondering if you cared to join me?" He asked making an excuse to just talk to her and possibly spend some time with her as well.

"I am sorry. I haven't attempted to jog since college. I am not a great jogger I forget to breathe correctly, and I get winded." Why oh why was she rambling on? Mercedes stopped herself before she revealed too much about her past jogging experiences like how she would sprint and walk but never could master the concept of jogging.

"Well, maybe you can power walk, while I jog. Just don't get offended if I leave you behind." He couldn't resist offering her the challenge to entice her to join him. He couldn't think of a better way to start his morning than seeing Mercedes Jones dressed in lycra black yoga pants, sports bra, and a gray tank top. Her curly hair was up in a ponytail and without a stitch of make-up on, she was still beautiful. He forced his eyes off her curvaceous form, so that he wouldn't put his foot in his mouth and mess up the first opportunity that he would be totally alone with her for a prolonged amount time since he interviewed her for the job with SEI.

"Alright, let's get going, so you won't be late for work, and I won't be late with my mother's breakfast." The two of them left the house together and began to do warm up exercises in the walkway careful to not stress their joints; both knowing it was best to stretch after a workout than before. Then, they began to exercise together. Mercedes was walking fast, but she was sure he could pass her if he wanted to. Instead of looking his way, she kept her eyes ahead.

Sam normally ran with a speed almost twice as he was going now, but he was not concentrating on his running technique. His mind was on Mercedes. How she was focused and seemed to be in a world of her own. She looked like his sister at that moment full of joy and peace. These two things were missing when he first met her, but now seem to radiate from her especially when she mentioned her mother. Although he was not keeping up his normal pace, he was enjoying the companionable silence. He never felt this relaxed and at home with a stranger before.

She was also already making a hedge way into his niece's heart. He had turned the baby monitor on in Maria's room in case she needed him during the middle of night and had heard Mercedes hugging his niece and kissing her on the cheek telling her that she loved her. It was exactly what Maria needed, a woman's love. Sam was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that Mercedes had trotted off toward the house and left him. Glancing at his watch, he rushed towards his home and went to his shower having just enough time for a piece of toast and coffee with Maria before he left for work.

* * *

During the rest of the week, Maria and Mercedes bonded more and more. They would spend time together watching their favorite animated movies. They would fix each others' hair and paint each others' nails. Mercedes treated Maria as if she were her daughter and set out to do all the things she would do with a little girl of her own. She bought new computer apps for the girl's tablet to help Maria learn to read and do things that most kids did in preschool. Their nighttime routine became permanent. Each night they would read stories together, and Mercedes would listen to Maria's prayers.

During the daytime besides helping her mother and watching movies, they would dance and sing songs. Mercedes would also go out and watch her as she took care of her pony. They didn't talk much but did a lot of things together. Soon, Mercedes knew the week would be over and that she would have to see Maria as her charge and student not friend or pretend daughter. Mercedes had to make sure to keep her professionalism. She didn't let Maria have her way and refused to deal with any of the girl's rambunctious behavior negligently. Becoming the girl's nanny meant that respect and not familial relationships should be established between the two, and Mercedes worked hard to not blur the lines. Pearl had already blurred the lines treating the girl as an honorary granddaughter which was fine because her mom would not be the nanny. Furthermore, Mercedes felt as if she owed Sam Evans too much to not give this job 100 % of her capabilities. This job was a dream, and the way that Mr. Evans had come through for her anticipating her and her mom's needs made Mercedes began to see him as the fairy tale prince his niece made him out to be.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, its characters, or any other liberties taken with this story. Once again thanks so very much for not only reading, but for those who take the time to review, favorite, and/or follow this story, you have my utmost appreciation. This chapter has been rewritten three times so hopefully three times is the charm ,and I have answered questions while slowly building the basis behind the story's themes of romance, spirtuality, and of course my most predominate theme in all my stories: family. It always feels as if I should write more dialogue, but I think the dialogue that is used is sufficient for this chapter. The next chapter is more of an angst chapter and this is more of a partial fluff chapter.**_

Chapter Six

As the months rolled by, Maria and Mercedes continued to get closer and closer to each other. One day while they were finishing up with Maria's academic assignments, Maria started to cry. Mercedes instantly went to put her arms around her and rocked her to comfort the little girl who she was beginning to love more and more. Afterwards, she got up and found some tissue to wipe her charge's precious tears off of her face.

After much prodding and guessing, Mercedes found out the Maria was feeling guilty over not missing her parents as much as she had in the past. Initially Mercedes couldn't think of anything to say, she knew from a psychological standpoint that most children were resilient when faced with tragedy. However, she knew that explaining this to a three year old would be impossible. Mercedes finally decided to go out on a limb and tell Maria the words that would comfort her and help her to heal.

She told the little girl, "God bottles up bad memories and takes them away to a place that gets further away each and every day. But, God never bottles up the good memories and the love. You will always have the memories of your parents and the love that you all felt for each other, and even when you don't think of these memories, they will always be in your heart forever."

After this talk, the two of them seemed to be connected to each other more powerfully than before. Having witness the little girl grieving and needing love and understanding, Mercedes began to feel the walls that she had built around her heart to keep a professional distance between her and Maria instantly fall away. Mercedes couldn't stop herself from treating Maria less as a charge but more as a daughter.

Pearl noticed how close Maria was getting to the both of them and urged Mercedes to ease up with her. She told Mercedes, "You are not a guarantee in that little girl's life. What if Sam decided to move back to Memphis, fired you, or got married?" She asked her daughter forcing her to look at the situation with common sense.

Mercedes didn't think that Maria needed to suffer so soon again after losing her parents and being moved from her grandparents and other family members and friends to lose her as well. This conversation with her mother made Mercedes apprehensive. She couldn't stop loving Maria like a daughter no matter what her mother said. Nannies were supposed to be that way. When the children outgrew them or the bosses got married, the nannies let the children go. She had been able to let a lot of people go when she moved from Lima. Plenty of people that she loved and would always have affection for. Mothers have to let go of their children when their children married or left for college. It was the cycle of life. She explained to her mother.

While Ms. Cedes was talking to her mother, she didn't know that Maria was at the door listening them. Maria didn't understand everything that Ms. Cedes and her mom were talking about. But she did know that if Ms. Cedes married her Uncle Sam, then she would never have to be without her. This is when the little girl started her plan of getting the two of them together. During dinner that night, Maria began to ask her uncle simple questions. She just wanted to know if he liked Ms. Cedes, but she didn't know how to ask her uncle the questions that would tell her if he would like to marry Ms. Cedes or not.

When his niece questioned him on his feelings towards Ms. Jones, Sam didn't quite know how to answer her. Besides the place in his heart that he had reserved for his niece, Sam had built a wall around his heart protecting him from caring for anyone emotionally. He was successful until he met and got to know Mercedes Jones. She was not the usual type of woman he was attracted to. However, that glow she wore on her face day after day made him desire her more and more. She was quite lovely in appearance on the outside, but there was just some indescribable inner beauty that exuded from her patience, caring approach, and general joyful attitude that made her stand a part from any of the females that he had known. He just wanted to sit in her presence. She made him feel peace and had the ability to make him temporarily forget all of his sorrow-filled past.

But just being in a room with her long enough was becoming an obstacle. Whenever she was on the second level, she would quickly leave using her mother as an excuse. He had to think of a way to get her alone to just enjoy her company once a day. And suddenly, an idea began to birth itself in his mind. He could ask for a biweekly report on Maria's progress. They could discuss her educational and emotional progress after dinner and allow her mother and Maria to have fun watching Wheel of Fortune together. He had left her a memo the next day after breakfast requesting her presence at their first nightly meeting.

The next day Mercedes awoke that morning feeling great; everything was going as planned. She had the perfect job and was able to care for her mother daily. She felt like singing the line, 'Who could ask for anything more?' However, her good mood didn't last because when she went back into the kitchen, she saw Sally and was given a note from Mr. Evans. Mercedes had never been a nanny before, and she thought she was making progress with Maria. She wasn't sure if Sam requesting her to meet with him was a good thing or not. Mercedes hoped he wasn't about to fire her.

Sam had never given her any parameters on educating his niece. She had a free hand and was using new theories that she thought was successful. Maria was beginning to know how to recognize sight word and read up to seven letter words. Her counting was good, and she was able to recognize the numbers one through twenty. Maria was on pre-kindergarten levels in all her subjects so far with even some basic addition skills adding and subtracting using her fingers with numbers no higher than five. Mercedes had not discussed anything with Sam, so she made sure she had everything ready for his perusal for tonight's meeting.

After she had finished having supper with her mama, Mercedes went into the kitchen to wash the dishes trying to keep busy to stop from concentrating on their meeting. At seven, Sam asked her to meet with him in the library. The two of them walked there together, and she could feel electricity in the air when he put his hand in the small of her back to allow her to precede him into the room. She knew she was going to have to keep her heart guarded around him, especially if just an innocent and chivalrous touch like that was making her pulse rate speed up. Mercedes couldn't remember the last time an attractive man who found her attractive had touched her, which caused her to feel an inexplicable wariness around him.

"I know you are wondering why now after several months of allowing you to take care of Maria that I am asking you for a meeting. I thought it would take you this long to work out a schedule and decide how you both would spend your day. Just as any parent normally would like to know how the both of you are faring, I have a hankering to know how everything is progressing." Sam said as he sat down at his desk waiting for her reply.

"When I first began working with Maria, I concentrated on us getting to know each other building a rapport between the two of us, so much of the first month me we spent our time together getting to know one another. When I realize how articulate and sharp she was for her age, I gave her a series of tests to see what grade level she was actually on for learning purposes. Her scores indicated that she was ready for pre-kindergarten level schoolwork. She could recite her alphabet, count to twenty, and knew her colors. She has a great memory but could not recognize the written symbols for the letters and numbers. So, I began working on this with her, and she has now scored kindergarten level on some things because she can now read and recognize words up to seven letters and knows her numbers by sight to twenty and can now count up to forty-two."

"That's quite satisfactory; I knew she was a very smart girl with her conversational skills and loving to watch _Sesame Street _and other learning shows. Her grandmother says she talks the way she does because she has little interaction with children, and she hears adults speak all the time and has picked up her conversational skills from being around adults too much. What I really want to know is how is she doing mentally?" Sam asked as he explained, "The therapist that I sent her to in Memphis thought that Maria was repressing her grief or something. Maria would never talk about it with me or her grandparents, and I wonder how she is doing." Sam said as he braced himself for her reply.

Mercedes thought about this carefully; she didn't want to hold the truth back, but she knew it would be better if he knew what had been going on in the little girl's mind. "Maria can barely remember her parents now. Most kids are resilient that way. It's their coping mechanism to tragedy. Their minds can't understand at that age when a parent leaves them whether or not they were coming back. That's why many of them cry if they see their parents leave even though they know and trust their caregivers." She paused before continuing.

"Maria was upset because of the move. She didn't want to leave her grandparents or church family, but she loved you too much to try to explain herself. She didn't want to make you sad by discussing her parents or asking why the both of you had to move. She needs to remember the good times she had with her parents, but you won't discuss them. She has opened up to me, and we have discussed this. She now gets these memories from her grandparents. She is more balanced now than before. She is happier and full of the joy of life. She is even okay with the move now because she gets to see more of you now than she did before." Mercedes stopped talking when she noticed the tears falling from his eyes.

She went over to him and put her arms around him as the continuous flow of tears began to dampen her shirt. She realized that this was probably the first time he had received comfort from anyone since the death of his sister. She understood the guilt he must have felt in not noticing how his behavior had affected his niece. How could she explain that it was not his fault? Mercedes just sat there and remained quiet until he finished crying.

Once his crying began to wane, she told him that he had not damaged his niece. That she was resilient and was adjusting normally. She loved her pony and their life in Solon. She was about to release him when she saw the smile began to light up his eyes. When she tried to unwrap herself from him, he refused to let her go.

"I think you better let me go." Mercedes told him after waiting a couple of minutes for his hold on her to lessen, and he still wouldn't release her.

"I am sorry, but I can't let you go at this instant. I can't remember the last time someone was brave or caring enough to offer me comfort. It makes me believe that you care for me like you care for Maria. Nobody besides Maria cares for me, and I know it's inappropriate for our employer/employee relationship, but it warms my heart that you care." It warmed more than his heart, but he didn't ruin the moment by saying that. At first he felt comfort from her but when she began to move to try to release herself from the hug, Sam started to feel his libido rise at the feel of her curves meshed and moving against his body.

"Mr. Evans, I know it might not seem that I care for you, but I do, and you must know that I want what is best for your family. Everybody in this world should be caring. However, I can't show any affection towards you especially if it could be misconstrued as being romantic in nature. As my employer, I think that you should know that this is inappropriate. So, I would really appreciate it, if you would let me go." Mercedes said hoping that her speech would convince Sam that he should let her go immediately. Although she had mastered several self-defense techniques, she was having a problem working herself out of his grasp. The more she moved around it seemed the more his grip on her tightened.

"I wouldn't continue to move like that if I were you." Sam said to her as he noticed that her clothing began to inch down and to the side revealing her skin. He knew he should let her go, but he was shamelessly enjoying her discomfiture.

Mercedes couldn't believe that he was licking his lips and leering at her skin which was exposed because the shirt she had on had a wide neckline that had begun to work its way down her shoulders revealing the upper part of her cleavage and the top of her bra, and he appeared to be enjoying the view so much that he obviously did not have any intention of letting her go. So, she inched her hands up around his neck. He didn't know what she was going to do, or he would have tried to stop her. Mercedes used her sharp nails to pinch the skin that was located in the center of his neck, which was connected to his spine. She twisted the skin with her fingers causing him immense pain. His grip on her relaxed as she backed away from him and ran from the room. She hoped he was not going to fire her because of Maria's sake. She could threaten to sue him for sexual harassment even if he did.

Sam had faced guilt over his niece and memories of his sister's death and was not falling apart. It was all because of Ms. Mercedes Jones. Her touch was like a healing balm, and he was reluctant to let her go even when his grief and guilt had fled away from the comfort of her touch. He couldn't stop his body's reaction to her no matter how hard he tried, or how much she said she didn't want to get involved with him. For the first time, he felt hope for his relationship with her. He didn't know her feelings for him until she had offered him comfort that night. She actually cared about him. He was going to get her one way or the other. He had never felt someone feel so right in his arms. It was inexplicable how he could feel comforted and then aroused just from a hug from her. Plus, the tantalizing sight of her cleavage the little he had seen had tempted him to the point if she hadn't caused him pain, he would have been tempted to taste her skin to see if the flavor of her skin was anything close to the aroma of her. He had licked his lips in the anticipation of discovering just what she tasted of. He wanted Mercedes Jones, and he was willing to do whatever it took to win her over. This was something she had better resign herself to. He told himself as he watched her escape the library to go downstairs to be with his niece and her mother.

* * *

After her Monday meeting with Sam, Mercedes decided to ignore him and stay away from him as much as possible. She was revising her opinion of the man constantly. When he was with his niece, he was a fantasy come to life: caring, patient, and loving. He was the utmost gentleman around her mother, but she could feel his heated stares and would catch his eyes on her bosom more often than not. He was no longer a fairy tale prince in her eyes and if Maria wanted to think of him as one, Mercedes privately thought that he would be the Beast from _Beauty and the Beast _and Maria was his platonic Belle that brought out his goodness.

Nevertheless, Mercedes was not at all shocked when she received another memo from him requesting her presence for another meeting. He informed her that they would be meeting together biweekly every Monday and Thursday night. She was ready for him this time. Mercedes would not allow him to touch her and would treat him like any other employer. Throughout the meeting she refused to give him more than a cursory glance as she read to him her evaluation of his niece's mental and educational progress. She was about to leave the library when his voice halted her.

"I feel that I must apologize for my behavior on Monday. It was unprofessional of me and so was your offer of comfort. We both went beyond the lines of appropriate behavior, and I don't fault you but thank you for your comfort. It was the first time I didn't sink into deep depression over my sister's death. I am not sorry for the way my body responded to yours. I can't change that. You knew I was sexually attracted to you before taking on this job. And my attraction to you hasn't lessened in fact being around you has made me want you now more than ever." Before he could say anything else, he saw her flee from the room as if the hounds of hell were after her.


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N I don't own Glee or anything resembling or mentioning another product, work, or public knowledge that is in this chapter. Thanks again for taking some of your precious and valuable time to leave reviews, and hello and thanks a bunch to the new people who have favorited and followed this story. Most of this chapter is a narrative and the end is when the action begins. I hope you enjoy it. I read over it, but I am sure I made some mistakes had to do more rewriting of this chapter than any of the others that is why it took so long to post it. This story won't be updated again until after next week. I have got to buckle down and do my schoolwork. Themes: religious overtones, family, and minor angst._**

Chapter Seven

The weeks began to pass by with incredible speed. Mercedes did her best to avoid Sam as much as possible and made their Monday and Thursday meetings brief by having written reports and only answering Sam in affirmatives or negatives. She kept the door open during their meetings and rushed to her mom using her mother's health as an excuse for her rushing out of the door after fifteen minutes of the meetings had gone by. Taking care of her mother and Maria kept Mercedes completely distracted. She didn't even look at the calendar that Sunday morning to see that it was the fourteenth of February, Valentine's Day. Mercedes didn't find out until on her way to church. She was completely shocked when she got in the car with Sam and Maria and was handed a rose and a card from Maria. She gave the girl a hug and a kiss because she didn't have a card to give to her. She didn't read the card because she assumed that Maria had just signed her name on it. Mercedes then gave Sam the initial directions to the church.

Mercedes was neither shocked nor amused when Sam manipulated his way into spending more time with her by deciding out of the blue that he was going to begin going to church with Mercedes and Maria. Mercedes had found a church similar to the one Maria attended in Tennessee thanks to Maria's grandparents. She and the little girl enjoyed their new church home with Maria making new friends with all the children she was meeting and getting to know in the church's children ministry program. Mercedes was just glad to be able to leave the Evans' home and be free of reminders of Sam Evans until he decided that he missed spending all of Sunday with his niece and wanted to go to church with her.

She remembered him telling her this newest piece of news after their Thursday meeting: "Oh, I will be attending church with you both Sunday. Since, it makes no sense for the both of us to drive that far you can ride with Maria and me. She is so excited about it. I will see you then." He had known that she wouldn't linger in his presence to argue as she rushed out of the library trying to not let the freshly showered Sam Evans in a white T-shirt and dark jeans make her weak enough to succumb to the flirtatious expressions his eyes were constantly given her. She didn't know which Mr. Evans she preferred the most – Mr. Evans dressed as the high powered executive or the casually dressed man before her. One thing she did know that Sam Evans was not interested in going to church for the reasons he had given her, and she was hoping that their Sunday wouldn't be ruined because she ended up slapping Sam and losing her job because he was too stupid to know that he shouldn't eye sex her in church.

Trying to get her mind off of Sam and his roving eyes, Mercedes regretted wearing her favorite cashmere sweater dress and boots to church with the way Sam appeared to undress her as soon as they met up in the foyer to get ready to church. Mercedes tried to think of other things, but she couldn't keep her mind off of the man sitting beside her. If she were stupid enough to allow her imagination to run wild, she could believe that this was her family, her handsome and successful husband and pretty and smart daughter. Mercedes knew better and started to pray to control her thoughts which was hard to do because Maria wanted to talk to her and her uncle. This required Mercedes' full attention. At church, they sat together and Mercedes ignored Sam as she got her praise on. She was so immersed in the worship service that she was finally able to forget about Sam until the children were released to children's church, and he was now seated beside her.

Sam thought he would feel uncomfortable at today's church service. However that was not the case, he watched Maria and Mercedes as they both gave themselves wholeheartedly to singing and dancing to God. The joy and peace on their faces seem to radiate throughout their entire bodies. He longed to feel what they felt, but he was too smart to believe that if there was a God that he even cared for the people he created. Mercedes and Maria didn't know that yet but one day they would. They had never gone through what he had gone through. Maria was too young to understand, and Mercedes probably had never had a prayer not answered by God.

Mercedes could be so single minded. She was trying to ignore him, and he was a little upset that she didn't even read the Valentine he had given her. She just assumed it was from Maria opening the card and quickly closing it gushing over the little girl. He thought of her reaction when she read it at home later. Thoughts of her consumed his mind, and he didn't hear a word that the preacher said.

After the service, many people came up to greet Sam. His mind was so busy on thinking about Mercedes that he tuned the preacher out and didn't hear one word that the man was saying. He also was not happy that Mercedes had stood up and introduced him as a visitor earlier. Now, he was constantly being stopped by people who shook his hand and introduced themselves to him. He couldn't believe that so many people, especially doctors, lawyers, and educated people from every race, were present at the church. They all seemed to have the same happiness that the two ladies in his life had. They were a little too happy if you asked him because waking up early on Sunday and spending two hours seated on a pew was not his idea of a good time.

Although Sam initially believed the people to be a bunch of religious zealots who were probably just as a hypocritical as his grandfather who had disowned his mom once she was pregnant with him, Sam had been amazed at the acceptance that they offered to him a virtual stranger and began to slightly change his opinion of the congregation. Maybe going to church was a good thing especially if it meant he could spend more time with Mercedes and get to hear her beautiful voice singing and watch her body jiggling as she rocked to the beat of the faster tempo songs.

* * *

As the month passed, Sam and Mercedes surprisingly grew closer together during their meetings concerning Maria's progress and going to church together. Mercedes was surprised that Sam had stop actively trying to seduce her and was acting like the person he was before she got the job. It was silly to try to ignore the man. He would attend church with her weekly and take Maria and her for dinner following the service. He always tried to find somewhere new and a different type of food. He was a different person around his niece, and Mercedes began to not only think of him as Sam instead of Mr. Evans, but sometimes she would even catch herself calling him by his first name when Sam would hear things at church and ask her about them afterwards. These conversations played a big part in breaking the ice between the two.

Sam was delighted in the change of status of their relationship; he was shocked that she never mentioned the Valentine's Day card. He thought that maybe she was using her forgiveness and forgetfulness philosophy that the minister talked about in church two Sundays ago and was not challenging him with it. The card had said will you be mine and was signed by the both of them. Sam didn't want to do anything to bring the awkwardness of Mercedes' avoiding him back so he hadn't mentioned the card, but still he was no superman and could not stop himself from touching Mercedes whenever possible, and he would use double entendres, but she wouldn't be provoked. He was going to have to take the direct approach with her because obviously this subtle flirting was not giving him the desired results that he wanted. This new found closeness between the two of them was only making him want her more than he thought humanly possible, so he was adamant about testing the waters to see if she had changed her mind and would be willing to accept his advances and decided without much thinking that he would do it after their meeting that night.

Mercedes was not looking forward to the meeting she had with Sam that night. The wind was blowing and a thunderstorm was a guarantee. She knew how Maria was frightened of these storms, and how she would want to be with Mercedes if it started lightning and thundering. Things were going peacefully in the house, and they were almost like a family. After receiving the Valentine's Day card from the both of them, she felt as if was an invitation to be a part of their family. If it were just his name on the card, she would have torn it up after finally reading it that night when she had shown her mother her Valentine's Day gifts from the Evans family and had brought her mother her gift that Sam had given her time to buy when they left the restaurant that Sunday afternoon. However, Sam, although touchy feely like his niece, was not forcing hugs and kisses on her, so she gave him the benefit of a doubt and not a tongue lashing over his behavior.

Mercedes wasn't naïve enough to not think that Sam was over his infatuation with her. He still flirted with her, but it was innocent. Sam could say whatever he liked, but it had no affect on her whatsoever. It was only his seductive touch that made her lose composure. He was being the perfect charming gentleman, and she had begun to like him as a friend. Her heart was guarded. So, there was nothing he could do that could take down the walls that surrounded it.

During the meeting with Sam in which they held in the living room because the sight of the lightning and the sounds of the storms were too distracting in the library, the lights began to flicker as if they were about to go off. Sam told her not to worry because they had a back up generator. It was the tornado season and the March winds were doing their normal thing. Neither one of them noticed that Maria had snuck into the room after they had come downstairs to be near Mercedes because she was frightened, and because Pearl had gone to sleep. As soon as Mercedes got up to leave the room after they had finished talking, she felt Sam's hand detaining her. She quickly sat back down, so he would drop his hand from her.

"There is something I would like to discuss with you that doesn't directly concern Maria. You have been with us for several months now, and I have never seen Maria so happy since you came. You have also touched my heart as well. I know this is sudden, but I am almost sure the feelings I have for you I have never felt for another woman. When you are around, the darkness and pain in which I tried to hide from by immersing myself in work have disappeared. What I want to ask you is something that I have discussed with Maria, and she has given me permission. Will you marry me?" Sam surprised even himself by asking this question. He had planned to date her not her offer to marry her. But he knew she wouldn't date him because of her beliefs, but she might be tempted to marry him because of sympathy, love for his niece, or for his money. He didn't care. He would make her love him in time. She was already attracted to him.

In the corner, Maria was overjoyed. She hoped and prayed that Mercedes would say yes. Then, she would never have to worry about being separated from her. She had told her uncle to marry her last week, but he acted as if it was a joke. On the trips to church, she would even imagine that they were married, and she was their daughter. She would be like the other kids now with a mom and a dad. She was so excited that she forgot about the thunderstorm.

Minutes had passed by, and the shock had not worn off Mercedes. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect a marriage proposal from Sam Evans. On paper, he was everything a woman could want. He was offering her the chance of being a permanent fixture in Maria's life. She was so tempted to tell him yes. Her flesh cried out yes. But out of her mouth came "Have you lost your mind. No. No. No!" She knew she could not be unequally yoked in marriage and that it would cause more pain than happiness. Before she could explain why she was refusing him, she heard someone cry out in pain. It was Maria crying. She had overheard them. Her first reaction was to go after her, but she knew she owed Sam an explanation.

"I will honestly tell you that I was tempted to say yes. But I can't marry you because I don't love you, and I barely know you. We've known each other less than half a year. We only started back being on good terms this month. Plus, it's against my beliefs, and I am not going to compromise for you. The only thing we have in common is Maria, and what happens when she becomes a busy teenager, I tell you what will happen when you no longer need a nanny, our marriage would be over. I am sorry. But I can't do it." She left him crying her heart out in search for her room to get herself together before she could go to and comfort Maria.

Sam could not believe how this had turned out. He had upset the two people who he cared about the most in the world. He wanted to curse God and blame him for this. If Mercedes were not so religious, ethical, and moral, he wouldn't be going through all of this. He could tell she was sexually attracted to him, but something about her faith kept him from getting close to her. She allowed friendship but nothing more. He cursed God and himself and decided that neither he nor Mercedes was important now. Maria had to be heartbroken, remembering her cry sobered him up, and he went to search for Maria to explain to her that Mercedes was not refusing her, but she was refusing him. He could not find her in her room. So, he went to Mercedes' mother room, she was not there as well. He finally knocked on Mercedes' door, and to his disappointment, she had not seen her as well. They began to look all over the house but could not find the precious little girl.

"Maybe she went outside." Mercedes horrifically suggested. She knew Maria was frightened of thunderstorms and couldn't imagine anything sending her out into one, but weirder things had been known to happen.

"I hope that is not the case she could be freezing cold with wetness, and its dark out there. Where would she go? She is too little to be on her own. Let's search the house again one more time, I will look on two upper floors and you search the two bottom ones." Sam ordered as he quickly bounded the steps.

After looking everywhere she could think of, Mercedes went back into the little girls' room and noticed that her raincoat was gone. She had obviously run away because she thought Mercedes was rejecting her and her uncle. She went back upstairs calling Sam's name.

Sam ran downstairs when he heard her call by his first name for the very first time. Thinking she had found Maria he ran like he was on the football field in his youth. By the time he reached her, he saw the tears and knew it was bad news. "What do you want?"

"I went into her room and found her closet door opened. Her raincoat was missing. She must have ran away because she heard me telling you no. She thought I was rejecting her not you…that I didn't want to be her mother. She probably thought I was going to say yes and was heartbroken when I didn't and unmindful of the storm ran out there just to get away from me." Mercedes could not stop crying.

Sam couldn't blame himself so he had to blame the only person near him her. "Because of you, my niece is out there in a storm even though she is frightened of them. She would be too upset to find her way back to the house, and it is too dark out there making it hard for her to see. She wouldn't know not to stay away from trees. If I lose her tonight, it will be your fault, and I will never forgive you." He lashed out at her running upstairs for his coat.

Every word he said was like a lash being struck against her back. Mentally, she knew he was blaming her because he couldn't blame himself, a safety mechanism for his sanity. The rage would give him the strength and adrenaline to go out there and search for his niece without being stricken with panic and self blame. However, emotionally it was if he had stabbed her in her back. She wanted to drown in tears, but she could hear her mother's voice in her head. Her mom always said prayer changes things. So, Mercedes began to pray. When Sam came back downstairs, he heard her praying and interrupted her because he couldn't think of where she could be outside on the vast estate.

Mercedes looked up and saw his face and at that moment she knew where Maria was. "She is in the stable with her pony. While I was praying I was thinking where she would go, and the only place she goes everyday is to the stables to her favorite pet, her pony. Don't waste any time go and get our little girl." She was so caught up in her emotions that she hadn't noticed that she had said those last three words that gave him hope and sent him on the trail for his niece.

Sam came back to the house ten minutes later with Maria. She was soaking wet with rainwater and hay covering most her body. Without talking to him, she praised God and got the little girl who was crying and in shock. She took her to her bathroom and stripped the clothing off her and gave her a nice warm bath. Not yelling at her over the stupid thing she had done but just singing to her to comfort the little girl who was probably frightened and hurt from everything that had happened earlier. Mercedes told her that Sam loved her more than anything. And that she loved her more than anything, too. By the time she was dried off and dressed in her princess pajamas, Maria had begun to nod off into the land of sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N I don't own Glee or anything resembling or mentioning another product, work, or public knowledge that is in this chapter. Thanks again for taking some of your precious and valuable time to leave reviews, and hello and thanks for the new person who favorited and followed this story. This is more of a summative chapter to show the progression of time and the progression of the relationship between Samcedes. Themes: religious overtones, family, and minor angst._**

Chapter Eight

As soon as she stepped out into the hall from Maria's room, Sam told her "I am so very sorry Mercedes for all the things I have said and done tonight. I was upset at you and myself and placed the blame with you because I couldn't bear to be the cause of my niece's disappearance. I was so frightened that she was going to die that I couldn't think. I know it is becoming a pattern, but I humbly beg for your forgiveness."

"I accept your apology. It's been a stressful night, and I thank God you were able to find Maria unharmed; let's just leave it at that. We were both out of line tonight, and we both need to learn to think before we speak. Words have power, and it's stupid for us to not realize just how potent words spoken in anger and confusion can be." Mercedes said and left him in the hall going to the sanctuary her room.

Standing in the hall, the words that she said began to penetrate his hard heart. He knew that there was truth in her words, and although he knew God wasn't for him, he couldn't help but to see why Mercedes had faith in an unseen deity. Sam could see why she and others believed in a God who answered their prayers. Why hadn't God ever answered his and spared him his mom or his sister? This question alone kept Sam from wanting anything to do with religion. He would continue to go to church with Mercedes and his niece because he felt he should, but he knew God and religion were not for him.

The next day Mercedes served Maria breakfast in bed, and he joined her. The two took the time to correct the little girl with love and a firm hand, so she would never do something so risky again. Maria was basically told that she was going to have to be punished for leaving the house without their permission and causing them to worry about her. They explained how something bad could have happened to her. Mercedes reminded her that whom the Lord loves, he disciplines. And that if the rod is spared, the child is spoiled, and she couldn't allow that to happen. Sam had decided and Mercedes agreed that Maria couldn't ride her pony for two weeks and could only go outside to go to church. There were going to be no movies during that time as well. Maria didn't seem to mind. She was just so glad that Mercedes loved her and was not leaving her. She waited until Mercedes had left the room to find out what was going on between the two.

"Uncle Sam, why wouldn't Mercedes marry you?"

"Because she believes that to marry someone you don't love is a big mistake; and she also believes that marrying someone who doesn't share her faith is wrong." He answered her question honestly.

"What do you mean share her faith?" was Maria's next logical question.

"I believe there maybe a God just like you and Mercedes do. I just do not want to have anything to do with Him. I turned to Him in the past and my sister did too, but He didn't change anything. It's hard to believe that He loves me when He hasn't done anything in the past to prove it." Sam tried to explain.

"Well, I am going to pray that He will start answering your prayers." She told him after she hugged him tight.

The simple faith of a little child Sam thought. The preacher had preached on having faith as a child last Sunday. He thought that was the only way people could have faith in a God who wouldn't change things in their lives. He wondered about how the intelligent people there embraced this childlike faith in a God who they couldn't feel, see, or hear. Maybe predestination was true and only certain people were able to have this faith and live it out.

On Sunday, Mercedes and Maria were shocked to see that Sam was actually clapping his hand during the praise and worship service at church. Mercedes thought he probably was thanking God for his niece's safety.

Sam continued to attend church and listen to the pastor hoping to find out why God favored some people and not others. No matter how hard he tried to come up with a rational answer; he always failed. The church began to grow on him, and he even began to develop a taste for the music. One Sunday, Sam was surprised to hear Mercedes sing a song called "He Wants It All" with Maria. They did the duet so beautifully that Sam could picture his sister and Joe smiling from heaven as their little girl followed in her parents' musical footsteps. He could remember the two singing duets from the times he would spend with them, and he had no idea Maria could sing just like her mother.

"Wasn't church awesome, Uncle Sam?" Maria asked as they headed home.

"Yes, it was. Why didn't the two of you warn me that you were going to be singing? I would have used my phone to video your performance and sent it to your grandparents had I had known ahead of time." Sam asked. He was so proud of the two of them. Yes, several of the people in the choir could sing, but none of the singers could hold a candle to Mercedes and coupled with his niece's dulcet tones it made his day to see the both of them becoming even closer together with Mercedes filling the role that his sister was unable to fill.

After that Sunday, it was if Sam had passed a test. He hadn't stop going to church, and he continued to clap and sway to the music during praise and worship. Mercedes decided that he was getting closer to her like he was a friend instead of an employer. She knew that if she wasn't careful she would allow herself to begin falling for him. This was a scary thought. She decided she needed some time away from them, and her mother needed time with her other children. Easter was coming up on April twentieth. She would ask for Good Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off for vacation time. She hadn't had a day of vacation since she started the job. She needed time away from Sam, and she could use the holiday as the perfect excuse.

When Sam finished dinner that night, he wasn't expecting to find Mercedes in the library waiting for him. He hoped nothing was wrong and gave up the hope that she was there for the pleasure of his company. "What brings you here is there something wrong with Maria?"

"No, she is doing fine. I just needed to talk you about taking some of my vacation time. My mother would like to be with our old church family for Easter, and I would like to be with her as well as our extended family. My former foster sisters called me to tell me how much they miss me and mother. So, they are bringing their families to Lima for a get together. I would like to leave Thursday night and come back on Monday evening if this is okay with you?" Mercedes remembered to ask permission instead of demanding it.

"That's fine. Be sure to tell Maria and reassure her that you are coming back" Whatever Sam was expecting it was not this. He gave her his approval; even though, he didn't want to agree. Sam knew that he would be very wrong to refuse her request. Mercedes and Pearl had loved ones and people who cared about them besides Maria. It would be cruel to deny her access to them. He had always thought of her in context to himself, Maria, and her mother. Sam never had thoughts of Mercedes' previous lifestyle before coming to move in with him and his niece. She could even have ex-boyfriends. He really didn't know much about her. Sam decided that when she came back, he was going to dedicate himself to getting to know her better her past, not just her present.

When she left that Thursday night, Maria and Sam felt like a piece of them were leaving. Mercedes had given Maria permission to text her using Sam's phone so that Sam could type her messages for Maria and read Mercedes' replies. She promised to sit next to them at church on Easter and bring a camera to take pictures of her charge in the dress they had picked out for her and to cheer her own in the play she was participating in. After Mercedes and Pearl left, the two of them went back into the house to the kitchen to console themselves with some ice cream and cookies and count the days to their return. Maria was going to miss Pearl as much as Mercedes. She had taken the place of her grandmother, and the two had become very close. Sam knew he had his work cut off for him to keep his niece from missing the Jones ladies.

* * *

Spending time with her extended family always was the cure to propel Mercedes to return to college, jobs, and now back to the Evans family. Her family was an odd mixture of different personality types. Sometimes she let her hair down and joined in on the fun if it was nonalcoholic and chronic free. Mercedes loved every member of her family but held firmly to the belief that absence makes the heart grow fonder. When they packed up the car to leave the next day, Pearl was ambivalent about returning. "I know how much you love that little girl and the job making all that money to pay for my surgery, but I will be better soon and able to stay at my own home. The question is whether or not you are going to be able to tear yourself away from Maria and return home to me?"

"Mother let's just take it day by day. God will ease the transition whenever it occurs. I signed a contract for one year. But I still need a job, if I give up this one. I still have college loans to pay off. I can't just prepare myself to give up a good paying job that I love to go back to unemployment." Mercedes pulled into the driveway knowing her mother could never understand what she was feeling.

"That's true. Why don't we just leave it in the hands of God? We can't change one thing by worrying can we?" Finally after years of being told this by Mercedes, Pearl was trying to truly embrace the concept.

The two of them had barely made it into the foyer when they heard the pitter patter of tiny feet. Maria almost knocked Pearl over by hugging her at the knees. Then she moved towards Mercedes, who quickly picked her up in her arms and gave her a kiss.

"I missed you both so very much that I asked Uncle Sam to take me over your house after church on Sunday. He said we couldn't go because he had a surprise for me back at the house. It was my grandma and grandpa. He had flown them down from Memphis, and they had Easter dinner with us and flew back this afternoon." She slid out of Mercedes' arms. "Come let me show what they bought back with them." She ushered them towards her room.

The room had frames of pictures everywhere. One was of her mother and maternal grandmother. She looked just like the both of them. The other one was of her father and mother together at the wedding. A picture of the wedding party depicted how the cancer had changed Mary Evans and the expression of sorrow on Sam's face. This must meant that Sam had begun to heal. He had allowed his niece to have pictures of her deceased parents and grandmother prominently displayed in a room in which he would have to come into. Mercedes felt as if her heart was going to burst with joy for both of them.

"Mom, don't you agree that Maria looks like her beautiful mother and grandmother?" She asked while looking at younger pictures of Stacey and Sam.

"Yes, you are right. I always thought she must look like her dad because she didn't resemble Sam at all." Pearl became teary eyed as she realized that these were the only memories that the little girl would have her momma and grandma.

"Well, let's get the both of you ready for bed; it is already ten o'clock. Tomorrow is not a vacation day for any of us. Now let me go unpack, and I will come and say goodnight to you both later." Mercedes left the room in complete awe over the difference a weekend could make.

When she returned to Maria's room, they read a Bible story together. Maria read all the easy words, and Mercedes read all the difficult ones. They completed their nighttime ritual of prayer, hugging, and saying goodnight. Mercedes went to her mother's room and separated her clothes for washing the next day. Her mother was obviously tired from having a big weekend away because she didn't mention the pictures or anything else new that occurred in the Evans' home while they had been away. Mercedes went back into her room continuing to separate clothes and put them up for washing the next day.

Because they had missed their Monday meeting, Sam had left a note reminding her to meet with him Tuesday after supper. The hours seemed to fly by that day as Mercedes and Maria tried to get buckled down to their normal schedule. She guessed that this is how a classroom of students would react after Spring Break. It seemed that her pupil wanted to talk about the weekend more than finish her work. So, Mercedes decided to make a pact with her. If she would settle down and complete all of her assignments, then Mercedes promised to talk about the weekend immediately after academics. The two would go for a walk for physical education and talk to each other outside in the beautiful spring afternoon. Maria finished her work in record time after that and literally tried to drag her teacher outdoors for their walk.

Maria told Mercedes about all that happened. How she was miserable and so was her uncle without Mercedes and her mother. It was like all the things that they did together were gone, and Sally had to watch her doing the day. It reminded them both of how they felt when they first moved to Ohio. Instead of making her feel better, seeing Mercedes at church that Sunday reminded her of how much she missed her and their special night-times together. Her uncle had felt her discontent and sent for her grandparents that Saturday night, but the two had to be a sunrise ceremony at their own church so they agreed to fly down that Sunday afternoon. He also told them to bring the pictures that Joe and Stacey had that were once in their home. He wanted to give them to Maria. She had a fabulous time with her grandparents and heard tale after tale of her father's adventures as a boy and hers as a baby. When her grandparents left that evening, she felt closer to them and her parents than ever before. It was if God had given her the happy moments that Mercedes had told her about earlier.

Following dinner that night, Mercedes went to the library awaiting Sam's arrival. She quickly noticed that a family portrait had been added. It was when Sam and his sister were both in school. His mother looked like she was their older sister. She studied the picture so intently that she was unaware of Sam's entrance into the room. He just watched her looking at the picture. When she suddenly felt someone's presence in the room, Mercedes turned around feeling like a little kid caught drinking milk out of the container. If she could have turned red, she would have.

"I was just admiring this picture of your family. Your mother looked like she was your older sister. I am amazed at the resemblance that Maria shares with your sister and mother." Mercedes said despising her habit of rambling when caught in an undesired scenario.

"She has looked like them since the day she was born. My sister gave me the news of her pregnancy the night our mother died. When she was born, we were both convinced that God had given us somebody else to love to help lessen the pain of losing our mother." Sam sat down at his desk savoring the sight, smell, and sound of her. He was totally infatuated with her. He had better get this meeting started before his body could overrule his brain.

"So, how is my niece progressing?" He asked her nonchalantly.

"She is doing fine. Today, she was rambunctious. Seemed as if she had ants in her pants, but she settled down and did her work. I just want to say, and I am going to try to do this without crying that sacrificing your own comfort level for her well-being was a thing of great courage and beauty. I know that you didn't want the reminders of all that you had lost to touch you here when you ran so far to leave it all behind. However for the greater good, the emotional stability of your niece, you risked placing your emotional health in danger. If I was ever in doubt for your love of your niece, you have put all doubts at rest. You are a great man I just wanted you to know this." She wiped the tears from her eyes and was startled to see tears form in his eyes. They just sat there in silence each one afraid to speak to break the fragile mood that her words had created.

Finally after much soul searching, Sam realized the truth of her words. He had finally put someone before himself someone who had suffered more than him. His niece didn't even have the opportunity to know her grandmother and barely had the chance to know her father and mother. She was moved away from all of her friends and her grandparents. Yet she was not blaming God. She was joyful and at peace. She was the one he should be concentrating on not on himself. It was if he had been giving a new lease on life. To enjoy each and every day he had on earth with his niece.

"I have just had an intense revelation. I have been focusing too much on myself. Plenty of people lose their children, their homes, parents, and have known so much more tragedy than myself. September 11th is an example of this, so many babies were left orphaned by that terrorist attack. They didn't have the thirty odd years I had with my mom and the twenty odd years I had with my sister. I was being so selfish." Sam paused before continuing trying to keep his emotions under control.

"But I make a vow to you that I am going to start thinking of others besides myself beginning with that precious niece of mine. We are going to start doing things like any normal family does. I am going to cut back on my work schedule and value the time that I have with her now in my life before she is all grown up." Sam appeared to have awakened from a long sleep and glimpses of the man he was when he graduated college full of life and promise and optimism flooded his persona.

Mercedes was amazed at that changes that was happening in his life. The physical attraction she always had felt for him was intensified with her actually liking him as a person. She knew she had better leave him before she jeopardized her promises to God and to herself. She was determined to treat him as an employer for the rest of their acquaintance. She knew that she had already crossed the professional lines because she had already felt maternal feelings for Maria. She wasn't going to cross any more lines by allowing herself to see Sam Evans as anything more than her employer.

Sam being true to his word began to spend more and more time with Maria. And some of that time included the three of them. They would go skating at the nearest skating rink, play miniature golf, and ride go-carts. They would go bowling a lot because they enjoyed the game so much. Sometimes, Pearl would spend the weekend in Lima, and the trio would head to themes parks located throughout the state of Ohio during the summer. Because it was summer vacation for Maria, Mercedes would take her to the summer reading program at the library and to museums and other culturally enriching activities while Sam was at work. Then on the last week of summer vacation when Pearl decided to spend an entire week in Lima, Sam surprised them with tickets to Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea World.

It was during that vacation that Mercedes tried to rationalize spending so much time with them. There were no improprieties happening because Mercedes and Maria shared a room that was in the two bedroom deluxe villa that Sam had decided to stay in which was conveniently located to the Magic Kingdom the only place Maria was the most ecstatic about going to out of all the theme parks. However, when they were out eating and being tourists, several people would remark on what a cute family saying that Maria looked like her daddy which caused all three to laugh at the lies that the people were spouting. Many would just tell her how beautiful they found her daughter to be. Sam would hear the comments and smile and say thank you and Maria as well. Mercedes knew they were misleading the people and lying by omission, but whenever she would go to correct them, Sam would interrupt knowing what she was going to say. She didn't want him or Maria believing in the fantasy that they were going to be a legitimate family. She felt like a fraud. Deep in her heart, she realized that she was becoming more and more attached to Maria and her uncle.

Things began to improve when they all returned home, and it was business as usual. But because they had spent so much time together, Sam would begin to finish her sentences. It was if they were more intimate than what was appropriate. When she started to back off of spending so much time with them after Maria's birthday party that fall, they would both give her a look that said what's wrong with me. why don't you want to spend time with us. Mercedes was feeling that she was digging herself in an enormous hole and could feel their shock when she told them about spending her entire Thanksgiving vacation with her mother in Lima. It was tradition she told them, and although she could have invited them for dinner, she stubbornly refused to.

Mercedes knew she needed time away from them. To wean them from her was her goal. She still wanted to be a part of their lives, but the fact was, she was not their family. She had a great Thanksgiving holiday with her family and tried to keep her thoughts from the Evans. Whenever she thought about them, she would pray and send them an email or call Maria on the phone.

As Mercedes tried to distance herself from the Evans, they seemed to take every opportunity to become closer and closer. However, the straw that broke the camel's back happened when Sam asked her to go Christmas shopping for Maria. He wanted Mercedes to use that week to determine what Maria wanted the most and proposed that they go shopping that weekend in which Pearl was going to stay at the house. She reluctantly agreed and prepared herself for the hunting of toys that little girls like. They went to the mall, and during the drive up there Mercedes pretended to sleep to keep them from having to discuss anything. It was seven o'clock in the morning, and she figured she could use the rest for conserving her energy for the marathon shopping they were going to do.

When she woke up, he had been calling her name and because she hadn't responded started to shake her gently. Mercedes was startled to find him so close to her person. She inched away from his grasp but instead of taking his hands off of her he kept them on her and began to run his hands up and down her arms. He was stroking her skin as if he couldn't get enough of the feel of her and by the look in his eyes she could tell that he was unwilling to let her go. This was the first time that they had been this close to each other and alone in what felt like forever. Danger bells sounded in her ears, and she cleared her throat to tell him to remove his hands from her arms.

"I think that if you don't turn the car back on and head back to your house that you had better release me or there is going to be some trouble." She said calmly instead of how she felt which was giddy with a strange emotion that she had never remembered feeling before.

"So, you are awake. I thought you were going to sleep during the entire shopping venture. I called your name to try to wake you up, but you wouldn't answer me. I shook you at last resort." Sam said handing Mercedes her mittens, and hat then putting his on.

"Sam I am too old to be playing games with you. I am your employee first and foremost, and I would like it if you treated me the same way you treated Sally." Mercedes thought it was best to get this out in the open while they were away from the house and little pitchers with big ears.

"I am sorry, but I can't treat you that way. I don't burn for just the simple and briefest touch from Sally, and I never will. I try to ignore the feelings I have for you because I am afraid of the distance you would put between us, if I made a play at you. It's like I live for the hope of seeing you smile at me, hearing your throaty voice when you whisper making me think of the sounds you would make it if we were intimate, and enjoying both the amazing childlike part of you and the nurturing woman that you are. It's because of you that my niece's and my life have been radically changed. It's been so long that something so good and so right has happened to me in my life, and I am willing to be your eunuch slave and serve you just to have you near me in hopes that one day that you feel the same way about me." Sam opened the far door and began to get out of the car.

She was almost swept away by the passion and the intensity of Sam's word, but her spirit was not at a peace. She felt as if Sam was giving glory to her for all the things that God had blessed him with. This made Mercedes feel very bad and she knew that without trying to she had crossed the line. She got of the car and joined him pretending that the conversation they had had just not occurred. She would tell him her plans of distancing herself from both him and his niece later to not give him the entire car ride to try to change her mind.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Thanks for continuing to read and review. This is super short chapter that could have been more drawn out and angsty but I didn't feel like rewriting it much. Same themes of religion, family, and unnecessary drama and same disclaimer of me not owning anything copyrighted that is used in this story.**_

Chapter Nine

The second Monday in December is when Mercedes finally decided to tell Sam of her plans. She participated in their normal activities that day without a hint to what was going on in her mind. After the meeting, she gathered up all the courage she could muster and confronted him.

"Sam, I was thinking that Maria needed a break just like the other kids in school for winter. I haven't taken any days off since Thanksgiving, and I would like to take the next two weeks of December off and return January 2nd. I know this is sudden, but believe me it is something that I must do." Mercedes didn't sugarcoat her request. She just addressed him like any other employee should address their boss.

"What can I say? You have obviously thought about it, and I can't change your mind. I just know that Maria will be very disappointed. She was looking forward to spending the holiday season with you." Sam calmly stated trying to emotionally bribe her with the possibility of upsetting Maria careful in not mentioning himself.

"Maria will be fine. I have already talked to her about it. She knows it is something that I must do. Besides, I would never do anything to intentionally harm her. I love that little girl." Mercedes stood up to leave the room.

Sam wanted to detain her to try to convince her to change her mind. He even wanted to bribe her with money if sympathy for his niece hadn't worked. But, he thought it wouldn't be wise to alienate her. She might decide to not come back. She only signed the contract for a year, and she had enough sick days to be legally free of him. So he decided to not push his luck and agreed to let her go. He could allow Maria to go to Memphis and be with her grandparents. The holidays were for being with your relatives. She probably would like to visit her old church family. It had been a year and so much had already changed. So, he just gave into Mercedes' demands surprisingly without putting up a fight.

Mercedes left Sam in the library. She couldn't believe how calmly he accepted her request for the vacation. She eagerly went downstairs to go and tell her mother and Maria the news. She was going to miss spending time with her little charge, but she knew that God would give her peace about the situation. As she took the stairs two at a time, she wondered if things would be the same when she returned. Who besides God knows what tomorrow holds she thought and opened the door the Pearl's room.

"Momma I just finished talking to Sam, and he has agreed to give me the two weeks off that I have requested." While Mercedes was talking, Maria came into Pearl's bedroom.

"I am going to miss you, Maria; I know you are going to have an awesome time with your uncle. If you need me, I am only going to be a phone call away."

They talked about their plans, and how they would have so much to share when they saw each other again in the upcoming year. Sam came down and joined them and announced that he was taking Maria to Memphis to spend time with her grandparents and reconnect with her old friends. Tears of joy began to flow down her chubby cheeks. And Sam felt peace for the first time about Mercedes' decision to leave.

The week went by so fast with the packing of presents, clothes, and making sure all of their itineraries were fixed. Mercedes personally thought you should give all year long instead of just on Christmas and didn't feel bad when she and her mother exchanged gifts with the Evans that Friday promising to wait until Christmas before they opened them. Then, Mercedes, with help from the Evans loaded her SUV and took off toward Lima.

* * *

Sam couldn't believe that he and Maria had spent five days with just themselves for company. They had ridden their horses, played all kinds of games, and watched tons of movies. The most fun and memorable thing they did to fill the time was to decorate the house for the holidays. The two had picked out a tree and decorated outside with lights. Before Mercedes had left, the two had set up the barn to look like the manger scene from the movie _The Greatest Story Ever Told_. The two enjoyed the festive look of their home, but were both eager for the next day. Their flight was scheduled for five a.m. the next morning, so he made Maria go to bed earlier than usual. He went to bed that night bracing himself for his return to Memphis.

Sam did not want to wake up the next morning, but he knew he had turn to the alarm off. It was four a.m., and he felt as if he hadn't been to sleep at all. He got up, showered, and dressed and went to the room he had made up for Maria before she moved downstairs to be near the nanny. She woke up with eagerness, and he urged her to shower and change while he loaded up the car. By the time that he had returned to the house, she was waiting on him downstairs with a ponytail holder.

"I need you to fix my hair Uncle Sam, and then I will be ready." She said handing him the red hair ornament.

Sam made her a ponytail and laughed at his efforts when compared to the styles that Mercedes did to her hair. He picked up his niece and carried her to the car, and they drove to the airport. Once there, they boarded their flight and slept the entire flight there. When they woke up, it was to the voice of the flight attendant telling them to refasten their seatbelts and put their seats in the upright position. After the plane landed, they began to collect their belongings. Most of their belongings fit into two carry-on pieces of luggage. That way they didn't have to risk their luggage being misplaced with the gifts they had in them. When they got off the plane, Maria's grandparents were waiting for them.

Maria was having an awesome time in Memphis. She played in snow fights outside with her grandparent's neighbors. She also went to many of the places that she could barely remember. She really enjoyed church service the most. The congregation had welcomed her back when they went to a special service that afternoon. After playing in the snow later, she began to feel woozy but didn't want to miss church that Sunday evening. She had promised all of her old friends that she would be there. She was very weak during the service almost falling asleep, but her grandparents seemed to be having such a good time that she didn't want to rush them home because of her. When they finally made it home that night, she told her grandmother about how bad she was feeling. Denise then called Sam who had been meeting with his former employee, Jim Williams, who was thinking of leaving Memphis after a drive by shooting had killed his teenaged son. Initially, Jim didn't want to relocate with Sam to Ohio, so he had resigned from SEI, but after experiencing this tragedy, both he and his wife was looking forward to moving to Ohio to start over if Sam was willing to rehire him.

"Hello, how can I help you?" He answered his phone looking at the caller ID and assuming it was Maria anxious for him to return to her grandparents' home.

"Sam this is Denise. Maria is burning up in fever and keeps talking about how cold she is. She wants you. She keeps calling out your name." Before she could say another word, Sam interrupted her.

"Take her to the nearest emergency room at the hospital. I will be there to meet with you with her insurance card and everything." He said this more calmly than he felt. He had just returned to Memphis and already tragedy was striking. Maybe his grandfather, who must have guessed his daughter was living there, had cursed the city. He didn't know, but he couldn't bear to spend another holiday season like the last one he had when he found out his mother was dying. He rushed to the hospital making it there in record time waiting on Maria and her grandparents' arrival.

Words could not describe the expression on his face when he saw her as the orderlies placed her on a stretcher and took her to a room to await the doctor. He had already signed her in and gave the nurse her symptoms. The doctor seemed to be in the room with her forever. When she finally came out, there was no smile on her face.

"Maria has been diagnosed with double pneumonia. Because she was so young her chance of survival is half and half. She has been weakened by the fever, and her lungs are in danger of collapsing." The doctor continued to talk, but Sam could not hear a word she was saying. God would not be so cruel and take this innocent girl who adored Him so much. He couldn't. When the doctor left them, Sam went to his niece and saw all the tubes hooked up to her an IV giving her fluids that her body had lost from the fever and oxygen tubes for her lungs.

He knew he should call and tell Mercedes. In case of the worst scenario, she would never forgive him if he didn't. He dialed her number and gave her the news. He heard her gasp of disbelief and remembered her saying she was leaving on the next available flight and that all of her family's prayers would be with him. No matter what anybody said to him that night, they couldn't convince him to leave Maria's bedside. About one a.m. that morning, he broke down and began to pray. He prayed simple prayers of God begging Him to please heal his niece. At three, he picked up the Bible and decided to read whatever page he landed on. He ended up reading the first chapter of the book of Joshua. Joshua was to lead the Israelites in possession of the Promised Land. Joshua had to trust God in dealing with the Jordan River and the walls of Jericho. No matter what situation arose, God reminded him again and again to be strong and courageous. If only it was that easy, he thought.

The next morning Sam was awaken by the sound of the hospital room door bursting open with Mercedes and a nurse on her heels telling her she must be family to enter the room, and Mercedes looking at the nurse as if she had lost her mind telling her that she was family. When the nurse looked at Sam for confirmation, he nodded his head still unconvinced to the fact that he was up and she was there and she was not a figment of his imagination or an embodiment of the dreams he was having throughout the night in the uncomfortable chair.

"How is my baby? How is she? Has she improved?" All her questions and observations were running together making little to no sense.

Before Sam could respond, Dr. Wheeler came in at nine to check up on Maria's told them that Maria was doing a lot better than yesterday, and if she continued to show these improvements, she might be able to beat the illness and be a part of the few children of her age who actually survived.

It wasn't until the thirtieth of December that the hospital released Maria fearing that she would have a relapse. Sam assured the doctor that they were headed to the airport and would make sure the child had complete bed rest until no sign of her illness lingered. He had his personal pilot come and get them interrupting his pilot's holiday time to insure that there was room for the hospital bed and the other two passengers on the small aircraft. His pilot would fly them as close to Evans' home as possible with Sam's home having some flat land that wasn't covered in trees near the lake being the most possible landing space.

Sam had called Sally to open up the home and make sure it would be warm and inviting; she would leave after their arrival to continue to enjoy her holiday and well deserved vacation. But first, she was to meet their flight with a van with the seats removed in the back to fit Maria's bed, and Sam would ride in the back with Maria while Sally drove the four of them back to the house. During the flight, Maria and Mercedes slept while Sam was finalizing these arrangements. Mercedes was tired after staying up late answering question after question that Sam would come up with. Sam was so amazed that Maria didn't die and was so happy that his niece was doing better that he would spend most nights talking to Mercedes about his past and about his newfound faith in God.

Once they arrived at the airport, Sam finished reading the books in the Bible that Mercedes had suggested he read when she gave him her Bible before they left Memphis to answer his questions. He decided to wake her up when he saw that she was still in deep sleep after the bumpy landing. Then, they started to unload the plane and push the hospital bed out and Sam and the pilot lifted the bed up into the back of the van. Maria woke up during the transition and promptly fell back to sleep as soon as they were able to get her out of the van and back into the house. Sam expressed his concern about her sleeping so much to Mercedes.

"It's her body's natural process of healing. In order for all her overworked cells to continue to work to help fight off infection, the body has to rest. It's the best thing for her. She is too young to try to go to work, but the older we are the better we feel we have to do things. So, our body sends the signal that we are tired to keep us in bed to prevent further injury or relapse." She explained before continuing, "If you don't mind, I would like to cut my vacation short and return to work to help take care of Maria until she is feeling 100%."

"I can do it alone, but I am sure Maria would love to have your company. So you have made me an offer I can't refuse."

So, the three of them spent New Year's Eve together making resolutions and taking down the holiday decorations. Maria fell asleep way before midnight, and Mercedes and Sam saw the New Year come in together.

Later that Monday morning, Mercedes went home to Lima to pick her mother and retrieve her automobile. She told her mother the good news of Maria's recovery. Her mom was delighted that all their prayers had been answered. Her mother had news for her as well. She was going to only spend the rest of the winter at the Evans' home. Pearl missed her own home and being around her church family and community. She was completely healed up from her surgery, and there was no reason to try to convince her that she needed a nursemaid living with her. She realized with Mercedes gone that she was more than capable of taking care of herself on her own.

Mercedes accepted this news in awe. As soon as they arrived at the Evans' home, Pearl went as fast as she could to Maria's room. Seeing the child looking so pale and helpless strengthened her resolve to spend the next few months living with the family and helping Mercedes out with the precious blessing of a little girl. She had come to love the girl like she was one of her own grandchildren. Unlike her other 'foster' grandchildren who hemmed and hawed whenever she made a request, Maria was always willing to help and adored spending time with her. She had even given the girl permission to call her Grandma Pearl.


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N I don't own Glee or anything resembling or mentioning another product, work, or public knowledge that is in this chapter. Thanks again for taking some of your precious and valuable time to leave reviews, and hello and thanks for the new peopkl who favorited and followed this story. The love that you poured out so unexpectedly encouraged me to rewrite chapter ten and publish it today as a show of appreciation for you taking the time to read this story that has a few expected turns and is hopefully a feel good story in the end._**

Chapter Ten

To everyone's surprise Maria seemed to improve by leaps and bounds everyday. By the end of the week, she was running around the house like nothing had happened to her. Sam had a doctor come visit her daily, and Dr. Wilson assured him that his niece was almost one hundred percent. Sam still refused to allow her to go outside because he thought the wet cold air of Ohio might bring on another infection. He bought her even more DVDs and board games to keep her occupied. Maria was ready to start back her lessons and made Mercedes aware of the fact because she was so bored with staying inside and watching movies and playing games all day every day.

Because of her charge's insistence, Mercedes felt no doubt about beginning her lessons that Monday. Maria had spent so much time in bed listening to people read to her that her vocabulary had improved by leaps and bounds. She was able to count to fifty and recognize the numbers to a hundred. She was reading with the phonics books that Mercedes had given her for Christmas. Mercedes knew that her little girl was growing up and would soon be ready for kindergarten that August. By the time February arrived, Mercedes had to change her curriculum increasing the difficulty level. Maria was an innovative thinker, and it made teaching her science, social studies, and health all the more enjoyable.

However, this good feeling did not last long. Maria asked her uncle again soon after Pearl left why he wasn't he trying to date Miss Cedes. Maria was afraid that Mercedes was going to leave them and go home to be her mother. Sam tried to answer her questions, but nothing he could say could convince her that Mercedes was not going to leave them. He had been privately thinking the same thing. So, he made up his mind to confront her on the status of her employment and their relationship now that she couldn't use her not dating an unbeliever as a valid excuse any longer.

He chose that Thursday night after their meeting to reveal to Mercedes what was on his heart. Once she had finished praising Maria's efforts, Mercedes immediately stood up as to leave.

"Please remain here for a while longer. There is something I need to talk to you about." He said motioning her to couch that was in the left corner of the room. Once they were both seated next to each other, he grabbed her hands and looked her deeply in the eyes. "Mercedes, I know that I have not made the best first impression with you, or the second, or the third. Who am I kidding? Not even my twentieth attempt of a good impression has worked. But, I need to know what are your plans for the future? Do you wish to continue to work here as Maria's nanny or do you want to go home to be with your mother, and I know I should hold off in asking you this, but now that I share your faith, do you still not see me as an appropriate person to date?"

"First of all, I have no intention of leaving this job and Maria. My mother is healthy and more than capable of taking care of herself, so I see no need in me having to quit this job just because my mother is no longer here. I signed the contract, and I am willing to abide by the terms of it. And Sam as far as the other issue, I would love for you to court me. But you are my boss, and it would make things very difficult for me to stay here as Maria's nanny if we broke up and one of us still had feelings for the other. We would both be miserable. Believe me when I say that it's not you. It's the timing and the circumstances. I am not willing to lose my job and relationship with Maria at this point. She is just getting over an illness and is more clingy than ever to me, and I would hate to see her response if I had to leave her because things didn't work out between the two of us. Let's just become great friends for now and truly get to know each other. You may decide that after hearing my laughter that you couldn't tolerate having me as your girlfriend." Mercedes said trying to lessen the blow by making him smile. She was not really joking about her laugh though; she had plenty of guys say her laughter was unladylike and wouldn't date her because she laughed so full heartedly and sometimes even snorted like a dork.

Sam couldn't believe this. She was turning him down again. He had never been turned down by any female this often in his life. His male pride was hurt. His head understood everything she was saying, but his heart overruled it. Unable to talk to Mercedes because of the wealth of his emotions, he stormed out of the library and headed to his room.

This left Mercedes in the library feeling very conflicted. A part of her so wanted to just fall into Sam's plan, but the rational side of her just couldn't do it. The cons outweighed the pros considerably. Even though she was having disturbing dreams, dreams in which Sam and she were happily married and raising Maria as their daughter and sometimes these dreams featured the family with an additional son and daughter. These dreams coupled with Maria's propensity for wanting to watch happily ever after movies were day by day weakening her resolve around Sam. She could see him as a potential boyfriend and future husband, but the fact that they didn't really know each other and all that Sam felt was a sexual attraction made the cons outweigh the pros. How could she work in the house of a man who wanted her and was so fine it should be against the law and not be tempted to want to play house and fool around? She didn't judge people who had sex outside of marriage, but she had made the vow to abstain from sex, and she knew that working for Sam and being around Sam while dating him would definitely test her strength of character and in this regards she was not foolish enough to think that she wouldn't fail this test of temptation.

* * *

Since Mercedes had refused Sam again, he had been keeping his distance from her. This was fine with her, but she missed his presence and his enthusiastic questions concerning their faith and their shared discussions. He had taken the place of her mother in being an adult she could talk to and share things with, and although Sally worked at the Evans' household every day until 3pm, she was too busy with her duties to be able to talk to Mercedes. Besides Sally's hours coincided with Maria's school time, so Mercedes was starving for adult interactions that were not limited to church alone and talking to her mom on the phone.

Two weeks later, Mercedes heard a noise and woke up startled. It was storming outside, but she could have sworn she heard someone going upstairs in the house. She should be the only person in the house. Maria was spending the night in Lima with Pearl and her new "cousins". The little girl had been missing Pearl since she moved, and Sam had reluctantly given her permission to stay the night when he was convinced that the other girls would help Pearl in making sure Maria was well cared for. Several of Pearl's foster daughters had little girls whose ages ranged from 12 to 8 to 6, and Maria enjoyed their company because the little girls loved to sing and dance and watch Disney Channel shows.

Sam had a business meeting out of the state, and he had said he was going to call if he decided to come home earlier. The sounds she was hearing led Mercedes to begin thinking someone could have been watching the house and with seeing no lights on in the house, they had attempted to break in, and steal whatever they could. She couldn't remember if she had set the alarm when she had come back in that afternoon. The sounds were coming from someone climbing the stairs, she was almost sure, and since Sam had said he would call if he would come back to Solon early, she had no reason to believe that it was him making the noises that she was hearing.

Mercedes strongly believed in her ability to defend herself with her self defense moves and had her cell phone with 911 already programmed in it to call for the police waiting for her to hit send, so she jumped out of her bed and decided to go upstairs to investigate. She didn't know what was in any of the rooms up there, so she just relied on her ears to lead her to the whereabouts of the culprit.

Then, she heard the sound of a drawer opening. Probably the sound was coming from Sam's upstairs office. Maybe the thief had found what he was looking for. Mercedes thought as she crept towards the room careful to not make any sound. Once she got to the door that was not closed all the way, she inched towards the crack trying to peak in. The light was not turned on in the room, so she was having difficulty seeing anything. She heard another door open and decided to enter the first room. When her eyes grew accustomed to the dark, Mercedes knew she was in a bedroom. Thinking that maybe Sam had come home unexpected because of the storm and didn't want to wake up her up by calling her to say he was arriving earlier than planned, Mercedes turned around towards the door.

Before she made two steps into the hall, someone grabbed her from behind. Thinking that it was Sam, but not sure, she started to struggle with him. When she went to elbow his side, he grabbed her arm turning her around to face him. She hoped and prayed it was Sam, and by the time he pushed her into the room and turned on the light; she was more apprehensive then frightened. He only had a pair of green silk boxer-briefs. He was staring at her in her short night robe with disbelief in his eyes.

"I am so sorry Sam. I did not know that you were returning tonight. I was in the bed asleep when I woke up hearing the sound of someone coming up the stairs. I figured since I had parked in the garage when I normally park in the parking space behind the house where Sally parks which lets people know someone is in the house, but I didn't park there tonight because it was raining when I returned. I only parked in your garage because it had begun to rain, and I had just gotten my hair fixed and I didn't have my umbrella. I didn't want to mess my hair up. Where was I?" Mercedes asked aloud while she tried to stop rambling and just tell him what happened and get away quickly.

"Oh, yeah, my car wasn't visible, so I thought someone had been watching the place waiting for it to be emptied at night and was going to try to break in and steal everything. I was coming up here following the sounds of the culprit with my cell phone to call the cops if I was sure someone else was here. When I recognized this was your room when you went into the bathroom, I figured you had come home early because why would a thief be in your room when there was much more valuable stuff in the other rooms. So, I decided to try to sneak back downstairs without you noticing me." Mercedes said trying to get the explanation out of the way so she could hurry to bed without being in such an intimate setting with him for so long. She thought he would let her go, but he was still looking at her as if she owed him a further explanation.

Sam thought he was dreaming. At first, he thought someone had broken into his home because he was sure he was the only person there because he didn't see Mercedes' SUV in its normal parking space, and he thought that Mercedes decided to stay with Maria at Pearl's. However when he pulled his car into the garage in his normal space, he saw her SUV there and this normally wouldn't be a problem. He only needed to go park in the adjoining part of the five car garage they held three of his already parked vehicles. He figured she must have gotten in when it was raining and didn't mind her using the garage to avoid from getting wet. However, since she had parked in the garage closest to the house, he ended up getting wet because he had to leave the garage on the farther end to walk into the garage that was the closest attached to the house.

It was two a.m. in the morning, and he was only thinking of taking off his damp clothes and taking a hot shower and getting into bed. He hadn't bothered with leaving the light on his room because he was heading straight to bed after his shower. While in the restroom, Sam had decided to postpone the shower after taking off his clothes and drying off he thought he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and pausing outside of his room. When he turned the light off in his bathroom and came back into his room, he saw there was no one in the room, so he began to think it was just his overactive imagination. He checked outside his door to make sure and that was when he grabbed his uninvited guest.

When he turned the person around, he was convinced it was a woman and by the smell of her it had to be Mercedes. He reached up to turn the lights on to be sure. Once the light was on, he wasn't left with any doubts. Before he could ask what she was doing upstairs, she had launched into a long winded confusing explanation. A part of him was relieved, but an even bigger part of him was also upset. She should have never come upstairs in search of a thief. She could have been killed. He could have lost her forever. He couldn't let her go until the entire situation sunk into his brain. However when a part of his body that was far apart from his brain began to harden, he released his grip on her and concentrated on his anger.

"I can't believe you would do something as dangerous as follow a suspected criminal upstairs in nothing but your nightgown and brief robe. You could have been hurt, raped, and/or killed. I thought you were more intelligent than that. You should have just called the police no matter what the situation was." He said without shouting, but one could feel the cool anger of his tone. Before she could defend her actions, he stopped her.

"There is no justification for your actions. Just go downstairs and promise me you will never do something this stupid ever again while you are under my employment." He said motioning her towards the door.

"You think it was stupid for me to do the same thing you ended up doing as well. The same things that could have happened to me could have happened to you as well. You didn't know how many people were in the house. Yet, you come out without anything in your hand for safety or protection. I think it's the pot calling the kettle black." With that said, Mercedes marched out of his room running downstairs without having the opportunity to hear his thoughts on that.

Mercedes woke up the next morning not at all ready to go to church. She wanted to go without seeing Sam Evans for a very long time. Only half the reason had to do with his cavalier, male chauvinistic treatment of her. The other half had to do with his awareness of her as a woman and her awareness of him as a man. Before he let her go, she felt his body's reaction to hers and instead of drawing back, she allowed him to stay near her. Welcoming his heat wanting to feel his body touching hers was the only thought going through her mind. The fact that he was the one to put distance between the two of them was unusual. She felt his erection, and she had turned into a hot puddle of mush and need. All she could think of was Sam touching her, kissing her, and feeling his hardness penetrating her. When he started fussing at her as if she was his child, the desire she had felt for him was quickly drenched.

Sam knew that he was right in confronting Mercedes about her actions last night. And he was willing to be subjected to her silent treatment the next day as she tried to ignore him as they headed out on their way to pick up Maria from Pearl's before going to church. If she was waiting on an apology for him, then she would be waiting a long time. He couldn't imagine her being so foolish in trying to investigate a possible break-in. Nothing in his home was more valuable than her, and she just couldn't realize the fact that he wouldn't have cared if he was robbed, he had insurance and plenty of money to replace things, but she was irreplaceable. He decided that he would just let her sulk and hope that she would get over it. Besides her little pouty face with her lips made her look so cute that he couldn't hide the smirk that filled his face whenever she threw one of her looks his way. She was afraid that what he was feeling for her was only lust, however, Sam had wanted and lusted after many women, but the feelings he had for Mercedes Jones were more than lust; yes, he wanted her body, but he also wanted her soul. He wanted her heart, and he was going to prove to her that he was worth the risk.


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N I don't own Glee or anything resembling or mentioning another product, work, or public knowledge that is in this chapter. Thanks again and again for taking some of your precious and valuable time to leave reviews, and hello and thanks for the new people who favorited and followed this story. These reviews and follows let me know that people are actually reading the chapters, and I am not wasting time re-reading and re-writing these chapters. This a filler chapter one that is necessary for the new direction that the story is taking and no pun intended on using ND LOL. **_

Chapter Eleven

Maria was changing physically; she had grown an inch taller and wasn't so tiny as she was when Mercedes first met her, and she was proving to be a challenge to teach because she was mastering concepts much faster than someone her age should be doing. Mercedes didn't know if it was the individualized instruction that the little darling received every week day or whether the child would be considered gifted in the public education system. She was also becoming an accomplished horseback rider. She had begun giving Mercedes lessons, and this is how they spent the majority of PE time. Summer was getting closer and closer, and Mercedes had already enrolled her in kindergarten for next year. Maria was excited about going to the private church school because she would already know many of her classmates. Mercedes had even volunteered to be a teacher's aide with Sam's approval, so she would be driving her to and from school each day. She didn't know what a nanny did while her charge was at school, so she suggested this to Sam, and he whole-heartedly agreed.

Lately, all Sam did was agree with her. He had even reduced their meetings to twice a month. He was occupied with things that she didn't know about. At first, Mercedes felt as is he was trying to punish her. However whenever he was in her presence, he would behave as if nothing had happened. He was spending less time at work and more time at home with Maria and even attending Wednesday night services at church. He had hired and moved a former employee from Tennessee to Ohio, and this employee was taking over a lot of the management of SEI, and Sam had even invited the man and his family to dinner at the Evans' home which was unusual for Sam. Mercedes felt as if she was playing the role of hostess and not nanny on the aforementioned evening, but she enjoyed spending time with the Williams' family who had suffered a lost of a son and were looking for a fresh start in Ohio.

Sam continued to treat Mercedes as if nothing had happened; instead of having it out with her, he simply let it go because he knew that his emotions would cloud his mental capacity and not allow him to see her point of view clearly. Fortunately with time, he was able to forget all about their differences of opinion. Although he agreed with Maria that he should actively pursue Mercedes, Sam realized that Mercedes was headstrong, and he had to wait for her to be willing to be pursued. He could bide his time. He had taken on less responsibility at work with the transition of moving to Ohio now eased with Jim Williams returning to his former position allowing Sam to significantly decrease his workload. He started out trusting his employees more, and just being around in a supervisory capacity in case Jim needed him. When he felt as if Jim and the rest of his employees had everything under control, Sam was able to accept the fact that he was not needed so much at work at all. He just was using work as a place to escape his grief. With his new found faith, Sam was able to talk about his loss and deal with his grief, so now he didn't need to escape to his job to avoid dealing with his turbulent feelings. He was content with his role as chief stockholder and CEO of the company, he didn't have to breathe, eat, and sleep his job as he did in the past. He was almost finished with going into the office on a daily basis because with technology, he could really do his job at any location. He would soon only have to be on site for major crises or stockholder meetings.

Sam had an epiphany and realized that he had earned millions of dollars that he would never spend and immediately decided that he was going to start using the money for good. He realized after talking to and helping Jim Williams that his passion was to help those who had lost loved ones due to violent deaths and terminal illness. He soon became consumed with finding out how to set up a non-profit organization to help people deal with their grief and help them with the expensive costs that accompanied taking care of people with deadly diseases. Sam knew that there were Ronald McDonald Houses and other organizations similar to his passion, but he wanted total care not just physical care of families dealing with fatal illnesses or tragic deaths. He wanted to start his first organization in Tennessee and not Ohio in honor of his mother, sister, and brother in law. He wanted to launch the first MRH an acronym for Mary's Refuge Haven his name for the building that would be the first home in Memphis but he would run the non profit organization from his home in Ohio.

"Uncle Sam, Uncle Sam!" Maria screamed as she headed upstairs. She was eager to show him her end of the year scores. "Look what I got. Look what I got!"

"Okay, calm down. I am looking." He said as he grabbed her and the papers up into his arms. "Ah, your composite scores for all the testing you did last month. I guess you are definitely my niece. These scores are awesome. How about I take you out to dinner to celebrate this and the beginning of summer break?" Sam asked and was immediately hugged and kissed before he heard a "yes" as confirmation.

"I'll go and tell Mercedes to put up the dinner Sally has made for us instead of heating it up in the oven. Can we please go to the Chinese restaurant in Cleveland and not the one we always eat from in Solon?" Maria slid down waiting for his answer before she told Mercedes the news.

"Wherever, you want to go princess. It's you who I am celebrating tonight. So, if you want Chinese, then Chinese it is. Let me make some phone calls, and I will meet you both downstairs in thirty minutes."

Maria raced downstairs in search of Mercedes. She found her in the kitchen getting ready to warm dinner. "Uncle Sam was so happy about my scores that he decided to take us out to dinner to celebrate." Maria continued. "So, I will help you put up tonight's dinner for tomorrow. Uncle Sam said that he would be ready to go in thirty minutes."

"That's fine with me." Mercedes said it was not if she had been asked her opinion, but she was only the nanny. "Where are we going to eat, or do you know yet?" She asked Maria who was happy as can be. As she placed the food in the in the refrigerator, she wondered why Sam was willing to eat out; he usually hated Solon's restaurants because none of them served the Memphis barbecue he loved and missed eating.

"He told me it was my choice, and I chose Emperor's Place. We get to use chopsticks. Remember the commercial we saw on television last night. It looked like it would be a fun place to eat." This made Mercedes sigh in relief that they were actually heading to Cleveland for dinner and not going to any of the places to eat in Solon.

"Well, let's get washed up and ready. We only have fifteen more minutes until it's time to go." Mercedes replied as they headed to the bathrooms near their bedrooms.

After dinner, they decided to watch a movie and because Mercedes wanted to talk to Sam, she watched the movie with them until Maria was worn out. When the little girl went to take her shower, Mercedes found an opportunity to be alone with Sam. It had been a long time since they were alone talking to each other besides their monthly meetings about Maria.

"Mercedes, I would like to discuss some things with you if you have the time." He said when he saw her move to get up off the couch.

"Okay, I am all ears. Shoot." She said trying to appear nonchalant.

"I have decided to only hold the majority of my company's stock and be an inactive CEO and have my vice president, Jim Williams, oversee the daily running of SEI. I am going to start a non-profit organization that provides help and support to people who have lost loved ones in a violent manner or from a terminal disease. My mission is to minister to these people when they are at their lowest, so they won't blame God but be drawn closer to Him through people who care and offer services to show they care in words and deeds. I am going to run the nonprofit out of our home, and I wanted to know if you would be interested in helping me to set it up?"

"Mercedes did you just hear anything I just said. Because I have been waiting for your response for the past minute?" Sam observed.

"I am sorry I was lost in my thoughts. Please repeat what you just said. I promise to pay attention this time." Normally, she was excellent in multi-tasking, but recently, she was getting more single minded than ever.

After Sam repeated everything he said and then asked her if it would be something that interests her, Sam watched the shock spread across her features, and was happy when Mercedes enthusiastically agreed to work with him on the MRH home.

Mercedes thought about how nice it would be to work with Sam in organizing his dream into a reality and readily agreed and was excited about helping him that all the previous uncomfortable feelings that she had while in his presence disappeared. She was now in organization mode and that meant lists and plans and helping Sam establish the first home in Memphis as soon as humanly possible.

The first thing that Mercedes did the next day was to research similar homes that provided the services that they were going to provide. Time always flew by amazingly fast whenever Mercedes was busy doing something that she loved. She started her search by going to Google. Once she had found twenty places, she got the names of the directors and their email addresses. This took several hours. She worked straight through lunch and only took a break when Maria came in demanding attention because Sam had left to go meet Jim Williams. She decided to eat something and keep Maria company at the same time. When she finished eating, Mercedes allowed Maria to play games on her tablet while she tried to get in touch with some of the non-profit organizations. She finally got in contact with one director and learned everything there was to know about the 911 Home in New York City. This home was started after the September 11th terrorist attack. They dealt with dealing with grief of a loved one who had been taken away suddenly in a violent and unexpected manner. They kept the house running in case of future terrorist activities and just everyday violent crime.

When she had hung up, Mercedes knew she had found a worthy comparison for only half of the services MRH would provide. She began to research hospices to find out if they had a care group for families who were dealing with a dying family member and/or death of a family member. She was surprised that they didn't have an official one but just offered group therapy. After she told them about MRH, they were enthusiastic about the non-profit organization. They offered to help them in any way they could. And she was relieved because she found out by looking at the clock after hanging up the phone it was time for Sam's return.

"After reading your reports and listening to all you have accomplished today, I have realized that you have been doing above and beyond what I initially foreseen. You have been doing the work of four people. I realized that this is my dream and not necessarily yours. So, I just wanted you to know that I appreciate everything you have done and have put you on the payroll for the work you have done and are doing for MRH" Sam said hoping that his feedback was better late than never. He couldn't believe the professionalism and the energy that Mercedes had put into the project while taking care of Maria. She was just amazing and had not complained at all. He would have gotten her help if she had asked. But if there was an example of a perfect woman for him than Mercedes Jones more than fit the criterion. It was as if God had fashioned her for him and him alone.

Sam was so lost in thought about how Mercedes was perfect for him intellectually, mentally, spiritually, and God forgive him physically that he didn't hear all that she was saying. The only words to permeate his brain were "However if you want to pay me for the work for the MRH Home in Memphis, then that's fine. It's not like you can't afford to pay me." Mercedes said laughing remembering her initial interview with him and how now money was at the least of her concerns.

"Let's wrap up everything tonight, so we won't have anything to do tomorrow but go to church and pack as we scout the locations that the realtors are suggesting for the very first home." Sam suggested after being entranced by her smile. It was not often that they shared laughter.

"That's the best news I have heard all day. Hopefully, it will give me the energy that I need to help you finalize everything." Mercedes said as she got on the computer and opened up the money management program to go over all the costs and provisions. She liked numbers, but she couldn't be an accountant. She had to deal with people or her imagination at work. She would be bored if she had to deal with numbers everyday.

"Remind me to break ahead of time and call out for some pizza and while I go and pick it up you can take a nap or do something relaxing." Sam said as he looked up at the clock and noticed that it was already five o'clock. When it was six, Mercedes prompted Sam to call for the pizza and went downstairs to her room. It was seven when Sam had come back with the food. They ate it and called his pilot to double check and see if everything was taken care of for their flight to Memphis. Maria would spend the day with her grandparents while Mercedes and Sam worked on the nonprofit. It was eleven p.m. when they finished working, and Mercedes told Sam goodnight as she left to go to her room.

On Monday morning, Mercedes' dreams were interrupted with the alarm clock and then her phone ringing. She shut off the alarm and got up to answer the phone. "Thanks for calling Sam. I am up and about to get ready. I will see you in twenty minutes." She said before he could say hello and hung up before he said goodbye.

Mercedes took her shower, dressed, and took her and Maria's belongings into the foyer. She was allowing the little girl to go back to sleep after helping her freshen up and dress because Sam could carry her to the car and there was no reason for anybody to be up at 4:00 am if they could help it was her thought process. She realized how rude she was being to Sam after directing him to take the bags and then Maria to the car. "I am sorry I was so short with you when you woke me up this morning. I just did not want to wake up. I am grumpy when I first wake up in the morning; it's a habit I have had my whole life." Mercedes told him shutting up before her rambling made them both sick.

"I understand. I was barely alert myself. I didn't have a peaceful night of sleep too many butterflies in my stomach about today. I was going over everything in my head until I eventually went to sleep at about one a.m." Sam admitted as they walked out of the house making sure everything was locked and secure for their return on Friday.

* * *

While Maria was at her grandparent's, Sam and Mercedes diligently worked on securing the ideal site for the first MRH home in Memphis. The two weighed the pros and cons of each prospective venue, and then they were finally able to find the perfect spot late Thursday evening. They were exhausted after finalizing the details with the realtor and Sam working diligently to get his offer accepted. They wanted the home in a residential area that was conveniently located to hospices and at least one major hospital. After making sure zoning laws and other obstacles were taken out of the equation and going through all the legalese that was required before making an offer on the home, the two picked up Maria and headed to Sam's condo that they had been staying in while in Memphis. For the first time, Sam didn't regret his decision to keep the condo when he moved to Ohio. The three bedroom condo was his first home and although he had experienced devastating lows while living there the memories didn't sting when he thought of his loved ones in heaven and how their memory was going to allow him to comfort those who mourned like he had and help them to cope with the grieving process was like a balm to his emotional wounds.

The next morning Sam woke up with a start. He couldn't believe it was so late. They only had fifteen minutes to make their flight back home to arrive on time so Sam could be at an important meeting in Ohio. It was because of the telephone call they had stayed up late that caused him to oversleep. Now, all Sam wanted to do was go back to sleep. But, he got up and expected Mercedes to be up waiting for him. He was going to send her downstairs to take care of Maria whom he had woken up and gotten dress and had eating some yogurt and fruit. He went to the guest bedroom and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he started shouting her name after searching every room in the condo. He was afraid she had overslept.

Sam decided to go inside of her room. Fortunately for him, the door was unlocked. He yelled "Mercedes wake up!" as he entered the room. He was near the bed and saw the little amount of clothing she slept in. Sam couldn't help himself as his morning wood made its reappearance. She looked so gorgeous and so womanly with the tank top revealing more of her breasts than he had ever seen. He had never seen her without a bra on or a bra built in her swimsuit. He licked his lips and fought the urge to reach out and gently run his fingers across the exposed skin to see if it felt as soft as it looked, and when she turned and the sheet came off revealing the brief boy shorts she had on, Sam bit his bottom lip as he admired that ass of hers.

Mercedes could hear someone calling her name, but she didn't have the energy to wake up. She tried to ignore it, although, it seemed to be getting closer and closer. Finally, she opened her eyes and saw Sam inside her bedroom. "What are you doing in here?" She inquired quickly grabbing the sheet to cover her exposed body.

"I have been searching all over for you. We have ten minutes to be out of the condo and leave for the airport. I came in here because you wouldn't respond to me yelling your name. I got worried and thought something was wrong. I am sorry for coming in, but you need to hurry up and get dressed." Sam said as he vacated the room.

As soon as he left, Mercedes went into the bathroom for a five-minute cool shower. She only took out the clothes she needed for today last night so she didn't have to pack. She knew it was going to be a hectic day, so she took a long and leisurely bath last night and slept in a tank top with boy shorts. She did not feel comfortable with Sam in her room this morning. The way he was looking at her body and her up and close view of his erection because that was the first sight she saw upon opening her eyes, brought back memories of the night she thought he was a thief breaking in. The feelings she had felt for him during that time were lustful. Her body was responding to his. This couldn't keep happening. There was just too much of an attraction between them to act like they were only employee and employer.

Sam rushed to Maria's room to get his niece showered and changed. He had her ready with three minutes to spare. He decided to see if Mercedes was ready, so they could leave. He knocked on the door and entered when she told him to. He saw that she was dressed and ready to go. They left the room together without saying a word. Sam felt like he should apologize but for what. He hadn't done anything wrong. She was an incredibly beautiful and sexy lady. He couldn't control his body's physical reaction to her. Deep inside even though he didn't want to admit it, he knew that he had enjoyed watching her while she slept in her barely there clothing. He was attracted to her and had not stopped wanting her although he had stopped pursing her. Whenever it appeared that they took two steps to being closer, something happened that made them take five steps back.

By the time Sam had sat next to her and Maria, she was relieved that he took out his laptop and began immediately to go to work. Although she tried to fight the need to go to sleep at the wrong time, she felt nauseous because it was a windy day, and the plane was experiencing turbulence. She took two Dramamines; as soon as the drug was released into her bloodstream, she fell into a deep sleep.

Sam couldn't believe her. He was trying to get some work done, and she was sleeping. Not napping but sleeping with her mouth opened. She and Maria could be twins both were out like a light. He wanted to move her to the bed in his private plane like he had just moved Maria, but he didn't want to risk waking her up. So, Sam put his laptop up. Then, he moved the armrest between their seats put her chair in the furthest reclining setting and laid his chair back next to her. This was the closest he would ever get to sleeping with her. He played with her hair and innocently showed her the affection he could never give to her when she was awake. She was an amazing woman who was so guarded and so stubborn that he didn't know what he could do to get her to open her eyes and see that he was the perfect man for her.

Mercedes woke up feeling cotton in her mouth, which was a side effect of the pills she had taken. She realized that her head was on Sam's chest and his hand was linked with hers. Not wanting to think how she got in that position, she didn't remove her hand for fear that he would wake up and find them in this position. So, she decided to just stay there in his arms. He was warmer than her seat. She grabbed the airplane's blanket and spread them on the both of them with her free hand and tried to go back to sleep. During the flight, she felt more safe and cherished than she could ever remember feeling.

When she woke up thirty minutes later, she felt a strong conviction that what she was doing was wrong. He was probably someone else's husband, and she was becoming more attached to him than was healthy. She released his hand and put the blanket in his hand in her hand's place. She then set off for the bathroom. She peeked in on Maria and could just imagine how out of it she appeared to be hours earlier. If the sight of her dripping drool and looking like she had been hit over the head by a two by four had not sent Sam running; then, maybe he could be the man for her. No. He can't be the one. If he were the one, she would have to move out. No matter how liberal her church was everyone would frown on them sharing the same house now with her mother not being present. There really was not a need for her to be there anymore anyways. She could pick up Maria everyday and ride with her to school and bring her home without a problem. She could even afford to do it without pay because of the salary he was paying her for helping him with establishing the MRH home. Did she really want a career as a nanny? She couldn't justify making her present salary with really only being Maria's companion. She was willing to be the girl's companion for free because she loved her.

Sam woke up, and he knew without opening his eyes that Mercedes was up and gone. He started to get ready to leave next and go to the bathroom. When she came back to her seat, he was already gone to the pilot's restroom. They would be landing, and he had no idea what to say to her. It would be to his best interest to let her begin the conversation. He finished up and left the restroom feeling a little refreshed but not by much.

Mercedes saw Sam emerging from the bathroom. Because she was not eager to tell him on the plane her new plans, she pretended to be busy playing a game on her phone. She soon got lost in her game and only barely noticed that Sam had gone back to his laptop to prepare for his corporate meeting.


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N I don't own Glee or anything resembling or mentioning another product, work, or public knowledge that is in this chapter. Thanks again for taking some of your precious and valuable time to leave reviews, and hello and thanks for the new people who favorited and followed this story. This chapter has a little angst and despair but know that in the next chapter it will work itself out. Also, if you read the story on Tumblr you will notice some significant changes throughout the story beginning with the last chapter, the theme is the same, but the content and chapters are now partially different than before. This chapter is short because I don't like to prolong angst I just like to steamroll through it!**_

Chapter Twelve

"Tell me everything that is going on. You better not leave anything out. We have got to get this taken care of once and for all." Pearl was always direct and to the point when she saw her daughter at the door with a stressed out countenance on her face.

"Hello, mother dear. Do you miss me terribly?" She asked facetiously knowing how to pull her mother's leg when she wanted to avoid talking about personal things with her.

"You know I do baby girl. I had gotten use to you trying to mother me, but now that I am better you will see that I am still your mom and I don't need you babying me anymore."

"I am glad you said that momma. I have decided to move back here with you until I can find my own place." Mercedes watched the astonishment crossing her face.

"You have decided to quit your job! What happened when you returned from Memphis yesterday? After speaking to you yesterday, I thought that the three of you were getting along fine." Pearl became silent enough to hear her daughter tell her the news.

"Mother, you know that I don't want to spend my life being a nanny. Anyways, Maria is starting school in the fall, and my job duties have come to just being transportation and a companion, which is unnecessary. Sam has resigned from an active role in his company and will have plenty of time to be with his niece. She has us for an extended family and new friends from church. I would just be paid an absurd amount of money for doing little or nothing, and that's just not right." Mercedes tried to explain leaving out most of the details.

"That makes sense. But what are you going to do with your life?" Pearl wanted to know because her daughter was way too young to not work even though she had saved her money and had enough to not work for several years because living with the Evans family meant she had no bills to pay so her check went right into a savings account for the most part since her SUV was paid for and all of Pearl's doctor's bills had been paid in full from Mercedes' first six paychecks. Sam was paying her $100,000 a year, and although Pearl's surgery had resulted in Mercedes receiving only half of her salary, her daughter hadn't spent a fourth of her earnings choosing to save the money for a rainy day. Pearl knew her daughter never wanted to ever be in the situation they were before Mr. Evans offered her the job, so she didn't admonish her baby girl for her frugal ways.

"I am not yet sure. I am still working for Sam to help him set up the MRH site in Memphis and who knows how long that position will last. I won't be moving in with you until I have finished working for him on that." She told her mother feeling confident that she was doing the right thing.

Mercedes returned from Lima to the Evans' home and decided to go to bed early. She was still tired from all of the traveling she had done. Prayer was the thing she needed to do the most when she finally left her mother. Pearl had fallen asleep; as soon as she began talking about Memphis. Mercedes knew her mother had to be exhausted but as she was getting older it was never unusual to find her mom nodding off while watching her soap operas or her favorite game shows. Mercedes gently woke her mom encouraging her to put on her nightgown and go to bed, and she left her childhood home feeling just like nothing had changed only everything had.

* * *

As the weeks passed by, Mercedes continued to avoid the conversation that she needed to have with the Evans' family. Sam had her head over the barrel because Mercedes had renewed her contract in March to work the year with Maria. This was before they made the decision that she was ready for church's private school. However, the summer was over and it was September, and it was finally time Mercedes for her to face Maria and Sam and tell them the truth. Because it was Labor Day weekend, Sally had the day off and Sam was grilling his famous Memphis barbecue which consisted of ribs for him and hamburgers and hotdogs for Mercedes and Maria. They had chocolate chip cookies with walnut, macadamia nut white chocolate cookies, ice cream, potato chips, and salad for nutritious purposes only to round out the meal. After the meal, Mercedes decided to kill two birds with one stone and tell them her news as soon as she found an opening in the conversation.

As the time slowly ticked by, Mercedes mustered up the courage to tell the two of them the news. "Maria and Sam, I have something very important I need to talk to you about." She started but was interrupted by Maria.

"Please tell me that there is nothing wrong with Grandma Pearl." Maria insisted once she saw the serious expression on her face.

"My mother is doing fine. You don't have to worry about her. She sends her love and wants you to come and visit her very soon." Mercedes paused before continuing. "As the both of you know, you, Maria, are going to be starting school very soon in one week if you want to be precise. Therefore, I feel that my position here as a nanny would be superfluous, unnecessary, because you, Sam, are cutting back on your work and are spending more time in the house. My only job here would be as a companion. I feel that Maria is going to have plenty of friends at school from church. So, I just can't justify or convince myself that I am needed here. This really hurts me, but after this week, I am going to have to resign. I can't be paid for what I do. I love the both of you too much to take advantage. I will always be your friend and will see you, Maria, every weekday at school and Sunday at church. Maybe your uncle will allow you to stay the night with me on the weekends that he has to leave to do business with the MRH Homes." Mercedes tried to hold back her emotions but seeing the look of disbelief on their faces forced her to look away from them and try to keep from crying.

"You don't have to leave. Uncle Sam can think of another job for you." Maria said with the simplicity and naiveté of youth.

"It's not that simple. I would like for it to be." Mercedes tried to explain it in a way that a child would understand. She reassured Maria that she would be around her almost daily and that she would continue to love her and have a place in her life. The little girl not fully comprehending everything soon got bored with conversation and asked to be excused so she could spend time with her pony. Sam agreed telling her to not go riding but to stay in the barn and to groom her pet and her pet only.

"So, you are leaving us. Just like that without discussing it with me. I know it's more than what you told Maria. You have been avoiding me for weeks. I know that you are leaving because of what happened before we left Memphis aren't you? You don't trust me. Do you?" Sam asked trying to hold back all that he was feeling.

"I do trust you. You haven't given me a reason not to trust you. But the truth of the matter is I don't trust myself. I am afraid that I will fall in love with you and that can't happen." Mercedes said before she could finish Sam interrupted her.

"Why can't it happen?" He paused before continuing, "Well my feelings can't be turned off. I have respected your decisions in the past but explain to me why you won't let us be a reality."

"It's just not seemly for us to be living together without me being here with a legitimate job and my mom as a chaperone. You have got to trust me and let me go." Mercedes said not willing to get into an argument with him. She could see living with Sam would be a constant temptation; a temptation that she not doubted that either one of them would be able to resist. She was avoiding his eyes even now not wanting to be sucked into the intensity of his gaze especially when he looked at her as if she was the only thing he wanted.

"Fine, Mercedes, I will let you go because it's not worth having you around daily in my home avoiding me and treating me like I am your enemy when all I have ever wanted was to have a relationship with you. When you repeatedly shut down all my attempts even for friendship, I finally got the message. Some perverse part of me wants me to make you honor your contract, but it is not worth it if you are going to resent me and take it out on my niece. You are still under contract with me, and we will modify the terms, but if you take your feelings for me out on my niece who loves you so much, know this if you hurt her I will never forgive you. Obviously your reputation and your pride mean more to you than she or I ever could." Sam said with tears in his eyes and fled up the stairs not able to continue to look at her anymore.

Mercedes devastated by the words that Sam was saying to her just listened and felt as if a part of her broke when he thought she would take her feelings out on the little girl who she loved like her very own child. Seeing the tears in his eyes made her feel as low as she could possibly feel. Sam didn't know that his words were having the opposite effect of what he probably intended. His words showed how much he could hurt her, and they weren't even in a relationship. If they would have tried to date and had battles like this, she didn't know how she would be able to work with him.

At that moment, Mercedes knew that she was doing the right thing by leaving before she fell in love with Sam. Because if heartbreak felt worse than what she was feeling now, then she never wanted to feel that way regarding Sam Evans. He really didn't know her at all even after her being in his household for a year and a half, he still didn't know her very well if he thought her reputation and pride meant anything to her. She had swallowed her pride the day she walked into his office for that interview and continued to risk her reputation by working with him without her mother being present. She didn't care about her pride, but she did care about her heart, and she was going to guard it no matter the cost. Mercedes began to cry as she realized the costs and realized that she was just as responsible for her current predicament as Sam was, and she could not see a way to make things better or everyone happy regardless of the decisions she had to make.

After calming herself down, Mercedes went outside to join Maria. She thought if the two of them focused on Maria going to school for the first time, that the little girl would not think about her leaving the Evans' household. They discussed the school materials and clothes shopping they would be doing and had to have completed by Thursday. For dinner, she was not surprised that Sam did not say anything to her doing the meal. Maria told him about the clothes shopping they were planning to do on Monday. Sam just said he would leave the credit card with them that morning and to spare no expense before kissing his niece and heading upstairs to his library.

Mercedes wanted to tell him that he was spoiling the child, but thought better of it. She watched him leave the dining area without telling her goodnight. She had never experienced Sam being ice cold towards her. She had experienced his anger, lust, and friendship, but she had never been in a room with him without feeling his eyes on her and his perverse need to make her acknowledge his presence in some twisted way or another when she was usually avoiding him and his presence. To clear her mind of all the drama that was taking place, she suggested a movie to Maria after the two cleaned up the dinner dishes and put up the leftovers. Sam had put steak, chicken, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes on the grill after they had finished lunch. Mercedes had put the food in the oven on warm so that the food would be hot and ready to eat for dinner. They had added the leftover salad and cookies and ice cream for dessert. When the two had finished in the kitchen, they went into the den to watch the movie, and even though _Rio 2_ was one of her favorite movies, Mercedes couldn't stop her mind from wandering to Sam and what her meeting would be like with him when they discussed the changes to her contract one which he wasn't willing to just tear up and let her go.


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N I don't own Glee or anything resembling or mentioning another product, work, or public knowledge that is in this chapter. Thanks so much for taking some of your precious and valuable time to leave reviews. I feel if you are able to take time to read and leave reviews, that I can take time to read and rewrite and post updates as quickly as I can.. I will be busy this weekend, so I won't have time to update this chapter like I would have like to on Saturday or Sunday giving it the full rewrite of my intentions and proofreading it thoroughly. This chapter has a strong religious theme to it and ends on a hopeful note after picking up after the sour note left in our mouths after Chapter 12.**_

Chapter Thirteen

Waking up the next day, Mercedes was glad that it was Sunday. Going to church should lift up everybody's spirit was her first thought. When Mercedes finished dressing and helping with Maria with her hair, she was very tempted in being ornery and driving her own vehicle to church. She knew that this would hurt Maria's feelings and would be a waste of gas, but she could tell from the expression on Sam's face and the fact that he didn't talk to her during breakfast and or when they walked out to the car, that Sam was still very upset with her.

When they got in the car and buckled up, Mercedes tried to avoid looking in Sam's direction. After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, Maria began to talk about school, and it was if the little girl noticed the silence and wanted to talk to help fill in the silent void created by the adults. Maria, poor child, had to carry the weight of the conversation in the car and ended up talking most of the way to fill in the uncomfortable silence of the ride whenever she stopped speaking or Sam or Mercedes had answered her question.

Sam was still not looking at nor talking to Mercedes. Mercedes tried not to focus on the iciness of the ride, but instead tried to focus on her future temporary career of being a teacher helper/volunteer at the private Christian school that Maria would be attending. The principal was going to meet her after the service and give her Maria's back to school list of items needed and give her new schedule. Mercedes couldn't wait to go shopping with Maria to get the little girl all of the material she would never for her very first day of school, and Maria and was excited about finding out who her teacher was going to be. Maria's excitement filled the rather somber mood of the car. Sam who looked the opposite of his niece appeared as if he hadn't slept all night.

When they got out of the car and each held onto one of Maria's hand as they exited the parking lot and entered inside of the church, Sam couldn't help but think how Mercedes was so hell bent on seeing how perfect the three of them were as a family. Maria had urged both Sam and Mercedes to enter into the sanctuary each Sunday holding hands. She was the glue holding the three of them together because right now Sam couldn't bear looking at Mercedes. He so much wanted to shake some sense into her. She had Maria's approval and had already proven to him that she was a Proverbs 31 woman and worthy mate for him. He loved everything about her except this blindness and stubbornness that prevented her from just realizing how they could make everything work out, all she had to do was marry him. He wouldn't treat her wrong; he would treat her like a queen. He loved her with all of his heart, and that is what was hurting him the most, Mercedes being too blind to see that they could have it all.

Sam's mind continued to wonder throughout the praise and worship segment of the Sunday service. He only came out of his thoughts when he heard Pastor Larry asking a question to the congregation and hearing everybody around him answer except for himself.

However, when Pastor Larry continued on with the sermon and asked the congregation, "Can you imagine how Abraham felt? God was asking him to sacrifice his son. God's promise to Abraham was contingent on Abraham having offspring. Many of us would not want to lay down our lives, but we would. We would sacrifice ourselves for God and be martyrs. But how many of us would sacrifice our children? How many of us would sacrifice our ministry? How many of us would sacrifice the very thing that God had put as a desire in our hearts and then gave to us? Not many of us would. That is why we would never step into the next level of the provision of God for our destiny. Abraham obeyed God because he feared and knew God. He knew that if he killed his son that God had the ability to raise him from the dead."

"God's not a man that He should lie. God had promised Abraham he would be a father of a nation, and he trusted God to do it. He didn't try to control his destiny. He allowed God to control it. So, congregation, I am exhorting you to obey God no matter what the situation. If He has promised you something, then asked you to lay it down, obey Him. It's because only when we trust God to fulfill our destiny that He will allow us to walk in it. You can't fulfill your destiny without God. He wants you to know Him. Know His ways and fear Him that we would rather sacrifice the most important thing in our lives if He asked us to because we trust Him with all of our hearts. We know him like we know our best friend and know the reason for his actions. I exhort you today to get to know God to such an extent that you can obey Him in every area in your life. Let's pray."

Sam was able to listen to the message and relate to it because he had been upset and mad at Mercedes for her decision to leave his home and was still not speaking to her. However after hearing the message he felt that as if God was using the minister to speak to him personally. Sam knew that Mercedes was his soul mate and could very well be the woman that he would want to choose as his wife and after the hurt that he felt when he realized she wouldn't be in his home any more, he knew at the moment that he truly loved Mercedes or he wouldn't hurt as much as he did. She was talking about heartbreak, and he was actually feeling the physical signs of someone having had their heartbroken and their dreams for the future crushed into smithereens.

Maybe God wanted him to sacrifice her, give her to Him, and allow Him to direct their paths to each other. Sam realized that he needed to stop thinking of what he wanted and start to think about trying to obey God even when it felt like he was losing the love of his life. Sam had to have faith and hope tenets of Christianity that are paramount for his newfound beliefs. He had to believe that God had something better for him and to keep hope that everything would work out together for his good. These thoughts and mediating on the words that Pastor Larry had preached left him feeling uplifted which was better than the moping hot mess he had been which he couldn't help because he so filled with anger and depression. Surely some good would come out of all of this. If Mercedes was for him, then he could do as the old proverb said if you love someone and let them go, if they were meant for you, then you would somehow find your way back together. The only problem was he had no idea of Mercedes' feelings for him at all. He hoped that she would one day see that he was worthy of her love and be willing to be his.

Sam decided to take them out for supper. He wanted to apologize to Mercedes for making her decision to leave them harder than it should have been. He knew he was in the wrong and decided to take her to one of her favorite restaurants to make up for his deplorable treatment of her. When he pulled up to the restaurant, he told his two little ladies that he brought them there to celebrate Mercedes' resignation as she was leaving them and heading for the next step in her life. As they walk into the restaurant, Maria had to go use the restroom leaving them alone.

"Mercedes, I just want to take this opportunity to apologize to you. I am so sorry that I put you through the wringer for being obedient to God. You have done so much for Maria and me that no money can express the payment that you deserve. I will always be in your debt. If you ever need me, please don't be afraid or unsure to call on me in the future. I want to be there to support you. Also, if you only want me as your friend, then I will be content in that role. I won't ever ask for more than you are willing to give. Will you please forgive me?" Sam asked and then waited for an answer.

"Of course, I forgive you. Thank you for releasing me. I don't like letting people down or hurting them. I was let down and hurt so much as a child that I have tried hard to live my life by keeping my word. I also became a people pleaser unable to tell people no. I began living my life for others and not putting Jesus first. Then, I got rebellious and started living for myself totally. Now, I am finally back on the right track, but you, my mother, and Maria were tempting me to fall back into my old ways again. Thanks for understanding. I really need friends. I don't have many of them." Mercedes said and reached out to hug him.

Mercedes was shocked at the turn around in Sam. She didn't want to admit how his silent treatment was affecting her but when he addressed her and Maria and told them that they were celebrating her resignation that afternoon, Mercedes was for the first time speechless. She so wanted to hug him then and get back to their former level of friendship, but when Maria left to go use the toilet the two of them stood outside the door and talked and Sam's words floored Mercedes. She asked for forgiveness in having to break her contract. She knew how important her word was and she didn't like going back on it. However, Sam said all the right things and by the time Maria asked for help with opening the door because she didn't want to use her hands and was too small to reach the paper towels, Mercedes had left Sam to tend to the little darling which only took a couple minutes and soon they were seated at the table and ordering their meals and drinks. Mercedes was able to exhale and enjoy the Evans knowing that it would be long time before they would be able to go out and eat as three again and she wanted to store everything in her memory bank so she wouldn't forget the good times she had while working for Sam Evans.

* * *

"Can I get that shirt with this skirt?" Maria asked holding up a red blouse with green polka dots against a hot pink with a white lace ruffle skirt. Time was flying by quickly, and Mercedes couldn't believe that taking the little girl shopping was such an overwhelming experience.

"I think that that would cause too much of a bright color statement. How about getting that white shirt which you could wear with some of your jeans and skirts that you have already picked out?" Mercedes asked to explain in a way that wouldn't hurt her feelings and steer her to some neutral colors. They had been shopping in Cleveland for what seemed like minutes but had actually been hours.

It wasn't until after they had purchased Maria a wardrobe to last until spring did the duo head home to give Sam a fashion show. Next time when it was time to purchase the little girl a new wardrobe, Mercedes was going to insist that they do some of the shopping online, so her feet wouldn't swell so much. Maria had enjoyed herself and that was all that really mattered. Even though they had permission to spare no cost, the two of them decided to buy only things that were on sale and donate the money that they could have spent to a charity helping destitute children with buying their back to school clothes and school supplies. Mercedes was happy when she counted up the receipts and discovered that they had saved over three hundred dollars. That would be enough money to help at least two children get the material and clothing they needed to start the school year.

That night before dinner, Maria began her fashion show. Mercedes had to work behind the scene fixing hair and helping with the clothing changes and onstage as the emcee. All of them had a great time with Sam videoing the event for posterity. At the end of the show, they ate dinner. Sam complimented Maria on her choice of clothes bragging that she got her sense of style for him. Mercedes who was thinking about some of the outfits that the girl would have chosen readily agreed. She knew Sam never went clothes shopping. So, she figured that someone else bought his clothing for him, or he had a stylist who picked out what he wanted and delivered the clothes to his tailor who would alter the clothing to his measurements. Mercedes loved shopping, and when it came to sales, she could be described as an addict like her mother. A bargain addict that is. If she saw something on sale whether she really loved it or not, she would buy it. That was why she didn't go shopping that often.

Maria was so anxious that when Thursday finally got there, she was up at five o'clock waking Mercedes up. "Mercedes get out of bed. We have to go to school. Come on get up." She said walking into the room ready for Mercedes to help her get dress.

"Maria we have to be ready at six thirty to be there by seven forty-five. We could get an hour more of sleep if we tried." She said without opening her eyes.

"We don't want to be late on our first day. Besides I can't sleep, I am so excited that I woke up every hour thinking it was time to go." Maria admitted as she sat on Mercedes' bed.

"I understand. That used to happen to me on the first day of school all the time because I was afraid of oversleeping. Why don't you go take a bath and come wake me up in thirty minutes?" Mercedes suggested then realized that Maria had fallen asleep. She looked at her alarm clock to make sure it was on and went back to sleep as well.

When they came home from school that day, each was eager to share their experiences with one another on the lengthy trip home. Mercedes described how she enjoyed helping with the older students and even getting the opportunity to learn many of the youths' names whose faces she saw each Sunday at church. Maria was raving about her teacher and how she sat next to two of her friends from children church Taylor and David. The two were surprised to be pulling in the driveway so quickly. Sam made her promise to drive the van he had purchased for safety reasons and because she wouldn't let him pay her for transporting his niece.

Before dinner, they each described their day to Sam. He was very interested in how their first day went. He was so happy that Maria was enjoying her teacher and got to sit next to her friends. His only concern was that she didn't get in trouble with talking to them during class. Also, Sam listened as Mercedes told him about the classes she assisted with. They had placed her with the older students because that was where they needed the most help. Sam was pleased that both of the females in his life were happy.

Because of her lack of sleep from last night, Maria could barely keep her eyes opened after supper. Mercedes took her downstairs and prepared her for bed. They had an early morning tomorrow, and she knew that going to bed early was a good practice for Maria to start. After she put Maria to bed, she went to her own room and began packing. Saturday night was her last night there, and they were moving her after church on Sunday. She thanked God that the both Sam and Maria were taking the transition so easy. It relieved all the negative pressure and allowed her to feel the peace of God over the decision she had made.

_**A/N continued—That was another short chapter. However, the good news is that most of the angst is finally over and Mercedes realizes that absence does make the heart fonder after the events in this chapter- that is the biggest hint I have ever given for a future chapter. **_


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N This was a massive rewrite that took longer than intended. I always felt like this chapter could be improved on, but I was trying to race to the end to tell the story in its earlier Tumblr format. So, thanks again for all you wonderful people who take the time to read this story. It is getting close to the end with only six more chapters to go. For all you reviewers, followers, and favoriters who love mushy Samcedes romance, get ready for some of the gooiest love sickening scenes ahead in the chapters that follow. Thanks for your support. Remember I own nothing but my OCs and any familiarity with any other brand, song, or TV show, or movie is just for entertainment purposes only and not for any profit promotion or gain. Until later…. **_

Chapter Fourteen

When Mercedes moved out that Sunday evening, she didn't yet realize how much she would miss Maria, and even though she loathed herself for admitting it, as the days rolled by Mercedes had to admit that she missed Sam, too. However, driving back and forth from Lima to Solon every day as well as working kept her more than occupied. One thing that Mercedes quickly noticed as the weeks passed by was the relationship dynamic between her and Maria was changing.

The two enjoyed their new relationship. It allowed for them to have a strictly personal relationship and not have to spend half their time being student and teacher. Now they were like auntie and niece, even though Maria had a secret desire for them to be more like mother and daughter, and she missed Mercedes living with her and her uncle like crazy but that was something that Mercedes didn't fully realize. The road trips did provide them with plenty of time to catch up with one another since Mercedes no longer lived with the Evans' family. However, Mercedes rarely saw Sam alone. The only times that she saw him was when she picked up Maria and dropped her off and at church on Sundays.

Mercedes was shocked when he stopped her one day in early October. "Yes, Sam I have a minute what do you want?" She asked him totally not prepared to have him pull her aside to have a private conversation with her.

"I am going to be opening up a new MRH home in Ohio, and I was wondering if you would be willing to help me set it up?" Sam asked her trying to focus on the home and not Mercedes' eyes. He missed her so much so much in fact that he decided to open up the new home a year ahead of schedule just so that he could engineer an excuse so they could spend time together.

"Sure, Sam, I would love to help out in any way that I can." Mercedes eagerly agreed. She couldn't stop herself from saying yes not just because she believed in the project but also because she missed being with Sam. "There is one problem. I can't continue to commute to work at the school and work with you in establishing the MRH home in Columbus. I couldn't possibly began working with you until after I found a place to move into." Mercedes said being realistic. She was no fool and was not about to risk her life and health driving on dark roads every night if she worked with Sam from three to six every night like she used to when she was Maria's nanny, she wouldn't make it home to Lima until eight thirty which wasn't bad, but she was already leaving Lima every morning at five am to pick up Maria at seven thirty for school. Mercedes knew what would happen if she tried to burn the candle at both ends, and she was unwilling to put herself and Maria in danger because she was exhausting herself by piling up too much responsibility on her shoulders.

She had already began looking for places near Solon, but the places that she was willing to live in were like a thousand dollar per month, and she couldn't see herself going from living rent free to paying a grand a month for rent. She told Sam all this and watched the smile that was previously on his face turn into a frown.

"You don't have to live in some substandard apartment. There is a plenty of room here. Your old room and your mother's old room are still available if you feel we need a chaperone. I am sure Pearl wouldn't mind staying in Solon for about a month. It took us about that time to establish the Memphis MRH. It is for a great cause that I know that your mom is passionate about, and I am sure she would be willing to stay here to allow you to help me make the Columbus home a reality." Sam tried to find a solution to a problem that he didn't even consider. Having Mercedes back in his home even for a month's time would really be incredible. He had let her go, but that hadn't stopped him from missing her like crazy.

"Sam, I don't think it's fair to have my mom give up her volunteer position at the local women's shelter in Lima to have her come supervise us for a month. My mom is really making a difference in the lives of the abused women and children who come to the shelter, and it is giving her life. She has been bored since her retirement and now that she is able to move around with no pain, she is back to herself and wants to continue to serve our community. I can't be selfish and ask her to stop doing what she loves, so that I can help you no matter how tempted I am in wanting to do so. I know Maria misses my mother and the same is true vice versa, but we have to come up with a better solution than that."

"How about I ask Sally to stay the nights while you are here? You could spend Monday through Thursday nights here and on those nights that Sally stays, she would only be responsible for cooking breakfast before heading home. I really don't need her throughout the day now that Maria is at school, so her job would be more of a night shift until you found an affordable, nice, and safe place to stay near Solon. I am sure she would appreciate the additional hours for more money to spend for the upcoming holidays. Let me call her, and if she agrees, then would you be willing to stay?" Sam was trying to find a way using any means necessary to convince Mercedes when he mentioned the additional money for Sally, he could see Mercedes' resolve start to waver. At the nod of her head, he called Sally and the sweet lady quickly agreed to the deal. She missed Mercedes and would love to spend time with her two favorite M&Ms that was her nickname for Maria and Mercedes because they were both sweet like the candy and could be just as hard headed as the candy's shell.

Mercedes could tell by Sam's expression that Sally said yes before he ended the call with her giving her the details. She knew that it would be dangerous to her emotions to stay with Sam, but establishing the home in Columbus was worth the risk. She had to think of the greater good, and she had to build up the guards around her heart to be able to live and work with him again without blurring the lines.

Sam knew he had to do everything to make Mercedes comfortable while she moved back in with them. He tried to stay out of her personal space and only talked to her about business matters. Now that Sally was staying with them, they all sat around the dinner table each night and the focus was mainly on Maria who was overjoyed at having two of her most favorite people staying with her again. Sam didn't want Maria getting her hopes up or his own so he constantly reminded his niece so as he could remind himself that Mercedes was only there temporarily.

No matter what kind of walls Sam tried to build up to keep himself from falling more in love with Mercedes, he couldn't succeed. He just couldn't stop himself from wanting to smell her skin, see her smile, and if he was careful he was able to touch her soft silky skin either by accident or what he called his intentional "merstakes" without getting caught. He tried to be subtle and only allowed his fingers to caress the warm skin of her hands briefly when he would give her documents to sign or fax for him concerning the MRH home setup.

When she had been living and working with Sam for two weeks, Mercedes finally found an affordable two bedroom one bath place and even though she was excited about finding the duplex, she was also a little disappointed. She had begun to enjoy Sam's company and to enjoy seeing how excited he was about establishing the new MRH site. Their discussions about the home and possible staff and all the details that went into establishing the home meant spending countless hours together and because they were trying to speed up the process so that their work would be finished before the holidays, they would spend more time together than they had when they had worked on establishing the Memphis site.

Mercedes was so busy helping Sam, working at the school, moving into her new home that she barely realized that it was already November, and that she would no longer have to spend time with Sam because all of the preliminary work needed in establishing the home was finished. They had found the perfect site and because Columbus was not that far they drove to the site and had made an offer on it in as little as two days. Watching Sam and his drive and compassion and seeing him embrace fatherhood and his responsibilities made the light bulb finally come in Mercedes Jones' head. He was no longer the Sam Evans she met over a year ago. This man was a family man first placing his niece above work and his own desires. He had finally let go of the chains of his past and was looking for ways to help those whose shoes he had already walked a mile in. This man was generous, handsome, and could be stubborn and possessive as hell, but he was a man of integrity.

Now that she was no longer actively working on the MRH home and living by herself, Mercedes was reluctant to admit that she was feeling lonely in the duplex that she had found in Solon. She was alright with the long distance driving every day and going home to her mother at night, now she was going home everyday to an empty home with nobody to talk to, and she was bored after catching up on all the latest bestseller books and top grossing movies as well as popular television shows that she could stream from Netflix. Now that she no longer saw Sam on a daily basis, she realized how much she missed seeing him and hearing his voice. The sickness that she felt in her heart felt like an important piece was missing from her, which made Mercedes realize that she loved Sam Evans, and she loved him in a way a woman loves a husband not a brother. She didn't want to think of spending her Thanksgiving holiday without him and Maria. She didn't know what to do about her feelings. She had refused the man so much surely he had gotten over and was probably dating some other woman who could appreciate a good man. He hadn't hit on her or looked at her with lust-filled eyes during the entire time they worked on the new MRH home. He could have lost all interest in her. Mercedes told herself to stop thinking these foolish thoughts, but she was beginning to worry that she had lost out on the opportunity to love and be loved by a person who she could see spending her life with.

"Hello Sam, are you busy?" She asked the next day after coming to the realization that she was in love with Sam Evans.

"No, I am not. How are you and your mother doing?" He asked trying to hide his curiosity over the unexpected phone call.

"We are both doing fine. The reason why I am calling and I am so sorry that its short notice to invite you and Maria over to my mother's for Thanksgiving dinner." She said hoping that he didn't have other plans which she would understand if he did being the short notice that she was giving him.

"Thank you for the invite. I am sure Maria will be excited as I am to spend the holidays with your family. She wasn't looking forward to just spending the holiday with only me. John and Denise are going on a cruise for Thanksgiving because it is also their wedding anniversary, plus they plan to spend time here with Maria for the Christmas holidays. Not that we are afraid of her getting sick again. It just would be better for our peace of mind to spend Christmas here in Ohio for the first time, and also we are opening the first MRH Home in Columbus the day before Christmas Eve. I wanted them to be here for that as well." Sam said still in shock that she was inviting them to dinner for Thanksgiving. That must meant she had missed him and Maria and wanted them to be with her loved ones on that day.

"Well, I guess I better warn you about my family. It's huge. All of my foster sisters, their husbands, and their children will be at my mother's house. It will be totally different from what you are used to. There will be all kinds of people who will be there from every strata of society. My mother and I both see you and Maria as family and are happy that you both will be here tomorrow." Mercedes took a deep breath before continuing, "I better get back to my housecleaning. You can come at any time on Thursday. The men will be watching a game while the women folk will be cooking in four different homes and bringing the food to my mom's house about noon." Mercedes told him trying to prepare for the overflowing and loud celebration of family and food, and this year hopefully God willing there would be no unnecessary drama.

"We will see you soon then. Is there anything I can bring?" Sam asked.

"You can bring extra plates, cups, napkins, and something to drink. There should be over the amount of food needed, but if you and Maria eat something that most of us don't eat on Thanksgiving Day, then I suggest you bring that." Mercedes said thinking of pumpkin pie or something that her family wouldn't cook because they didn't eat it.

"Okay. Thanks again for the invite. Tell your mother I said hello and that I can't wait to see her." Sam said not really listening to Mercedes he was just happy to be able to spend the holidays with her and he knew that Maria was going to be ecstatic as well.

* * *

Mercedes woke up on Thanksgiving Day feeling tired. She had spent the better part of yesterday cleaning up and removing furniture from the living room to the den. Putting up a big table in the living room and chairs for the dinner tomorrow. She had some help from her nieces and nephews. They built up the den with the furniture facing the television. Now, her muscles were reminding her of the workout she had given them. She got out of bed after looking at the clock and noticing that it was already seven o'clock. She ran into the bathroom and took a shower and dressed in record time. Her mother was already up and busy in the kitchen.

"Good morning mother." She said as she put on her apron and began to help her mother with the cooking of the most important part of the meal: the turkey dressing. Every since she was a little girl, she had helped her mother with making the dressing. She was the official taster knowing what ingredient was missing or overdone. After putting the dressing in the oven to cook, Mercedes began to make macaroni and cheese, corn casserole, and broccoli casserole. Her mom was preparing banana pudding, caramel cake, and chocolate chip cookies to go with the pecan pies, sweet potato pies, and red velvet cake that she had prepared yesterday. Her foster sisters had baked hams and turkeys. Some were frying chicken. Some were cooking the mashed potatoes, collards, and turnip greens. They were better with the meats and vegetables, and she was better at preparing the casseroles.

Mercedes had to take a shower at ten after cooking from all of the sweat she generated in the kitchen. She was very excited about today. This was the first time she was spending a major holiday with Sam. It was also a test. If he could look at her family and not run away and still wanted to marry her, she would know without a doubt that he was the man for her. If he were able to tolerate their presence the entire day, she would have to give him a medal. Maria would have a good time playing with all of the children who would be in and out of the house. But, she knew that some of her "relatives" were very dysfunctional. Her mother had taken in all kinds of young people during the years that she was a social worker from environments that were not clean-cut and/or healthy. Some of their relatives were drug pushers, crack addicts, thieves, liars, and generally people whom you wouldn't want to hang around with unless you were into their activities..

When Sam arrived, she had just finished the dressing and was checking on everything in the kitchen. She introduced him to Sheila and Azimio Adams who had just arrived and Maria to their little ones. The little ones quickly took Maria with them in search of their other "cousins". Sam had to endure question after question from her "sisters" before her mother banished them to working in the kitchen. Then, Sam was left alone with her sisters' menfolk.

When her mother told them that dinner would be served in twenty minutes most of the family was there minus a few stragglers, who had not made it, and it was almost twelve. The smell of the food was overwhelming the house. The smells from cakes, pies, meats, vegetables, casseroles, and breads were making every mouth water. The children were seated in the dining room and most of the guests were seated in the crowded living room. Mercedes, Pearl, and Sheila sat in the kitchen to make sure the food was constantly being sent out and to keep an eye on the smaller kids who were seated around the kitchen table.

Mercedes was happy to see that Sam was with Azimio who was another former college star football player which made him not completely alone in the room filled with mostly strangers. When the dinner was over, all the women helped in cleaning up the trash from the feast. The men were watching the game and the kids were outside playing again. She had told her mother that she was probably going to disappear in her old bedroom after the majority of their guests left to sink into oblivion. Because they all worked together moving the furniture back into their original place, Mercedes was not as tired as she initially thought she would be. It was four o'clock when everyone left, and Mercedes didn't notice that Sam and Maria were still there. She found them with Pearl in her mother's room.

"I thought everyone was gone. It has been quite a Thanksgiving, a lot calmer than normal. No one got in a big fight or hurt anyone's feelings. This was a first time that has occurred at one of our gatherings. I think it was because of Sam's presence. Everybody was too busy gossiping about him and why he was here." Mercedes observed as she thought about how well the day had gone and was thankful that her "family" had proven her wrong and had shown they could behave.

"I am just so blessed that you and Maria decided to come. Please take any leftovers that you can find in the kitchen. I know Sally might get mad, but I thought that you and Maria might would like a snack tonight." Pearl said to Sam as she got up to lead them into the kitchen.

"You better not refuse my mother when she is offering you something. She will keep on until she wears you down." Mercedes said when she saw that Sam was about to refuse.

"I know what I want some more of. Macaroni and cheese please," Sam and Maria both said the last sentence in unison.

"Well, I can help you two with that. I had enough ingredients for two pans, so I will fix you both to go containers with as much as you want." Mercedes said as they followed Pearl into the kitchen.

"Thanks again for the invite. We had a fabulous time." Sam said as they were walking toward the door after receiving a bag filled with macaroni and cheese, turkey, ham, fried chicken, and cakes and pies on top.

"Can Mercedes spend the night with us, Uncle Sam?" Maria asked wanting to spend more time with one of her favorite people in the world.

"We would have to ask her mother. I am sure she would probably mind her daughter being away on Thanksgiving Day night." Sam said teasing both Maria and Mercedes pretending that Mercedes was a young girl that his niece was asking to have a sleepover with.

"You are right Sam. I am sure I would have to ask my mother's permission." Mercedes said sarcastically not watching Maria run back into the kitchen to Pearl and asking if Mercedes could spend the night at her house.

Before Sam could respond, Maria rushed back in saying that Mercedes' mom had given permission for her to sleepover. The little girl was jumping up in excitement and Sam could look at Mercedes' face and knew that the little girl was beginning to wrap Mercedes around her finger when he saw the smile break out on her face. He wasn't surprised with hearing Mercedes saying that she had to stop by her apartment and then she would meet the Evans at their home later that evening.

"How did I get myself in this mess?" Mercedes asked herself as she drove from her place towards the Evans' estate. Mercedes knew that she had fallen in love with Sam and now being in his house with him with Maria on Thanksgiving she knew it was going to be difficult to not imagine them as a happy family. She knew that she wanted nothing more in the world to be Sam Evans' wife and Maria Evans' adopted mother. However, she did not know how to express this news to Sam. After rejecting his marriage proposal and shooting him down every time he made a pass or tried to pursue a relationship with her, Mercedes felt as if she had pushed Sam away permanently and was unsure of how she would be able to convince him to give her another chance. She was so caught up in her internal dialogue that Mercedes didn't notice she was already at the Evans' home. Instead of going inside and waiting on her to come to their home, the uncle and niece were busy outside making snow angels. Mercedes left her overnight bag in her car and jumped out to join them.

After they finish making snow angels, Maria snuck over to Mercedes and asked if she would team up with her against Sam in a snow ball fight. The two pretended that they were going to make a snowwoman and began balling up balls of snow. Sam decided to take the food in the house and Mercedes' overnight bag promising to return to help them lift the heavier balls of snow for their creation. By the time he had returned the two mischievous ones had created over twenty balls of snow and they began to rapidly fire them at Sam who refused to try to make any of his own but kept coming towards them so he could use their own snowballs against them. Mercedes seeing that this was Sam's plan told Maria to get as many snowballs as she could and run while Mercedes tried to do the same.

Sam decided to forget the snowballs when he saw their intentions and began to chase after the girls instead. Maria figured this out first and yelled to Mercedes to drop the snowballs and run however Mercedes didn't have enough time before Sam softly tackled her into the snow on top of the remaining snowballs. Maria used her snowballs that were in her hand to pelt Sam on his back to rescue Mercedes but Sam was enjoying picking up snow and letting it drizzle on Mercedes' face to notice. When one of the snowballs hit him on the back of his head, Sam got up and quickly grabbed Maria and tossed her beside Mercedes and then picked up snow and drizzled it onto his niece as well which caused her to laugh. When Mercedes tried to get up to run inside, Sam stopped her by grabbing her around the waist and picking her up in a fireman's lift threatening to throw her back in the snow. Maria got up and begged her uncle to let Mercedes go and Sam relented when noticed that the sun was going down and they needed to go inside to clean up. Instead of allowing Mercedes to walk inside the house, Sam carried her inside with Maria giggling following behind.

After they had warm showers and changed into their pajamas, Maria and Mercedes headed into the great room with a big bowl of popcorn and juices to watch movies. Sam coming downstairs saw the two snuggled up under a horse print electric throw stopped and watched the two enjoying the Christmas movie. Sam could so picture them spending the next Thanksgiving like this with only three major differences: Mercedes would be married to him. They would have adopted Maria as their own. And hopefully Mercedes would be expecting their first child as well. Sam had to shake his head to clear those thoughts. He didn't want to send Mercedes running to the hills again just because he couldn't keep her out of his mind or out of his heart. Today was almost perfect. He could imagine giving her for Christmas the present that he had already bought for her when he had proposed to her the last time an engagement ring, but he would first have to gather the courage to ask her out on a date first he thought as he headed upstairs to call the one person who would give him the honest opinion on whether or not he stood a chance with Mercedes her mother, Pearl.


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N After a super busy week at work and a hectic weekend, I finally took the time to just correct some of the many mistakes that the previous version of this chapter had and didn't really add anything to it content wise. The story does have a name thanks to abbiecarr. Also, thanks again for all you wonderful people who take the time to read this story and for those who take the time to leave reviews. I own nothing but my OCs and any familiarity with any other work is not for personal gain or credit. This chapter has a slight religious theme but the most predominate themes are family and love.**_

Chapter Fifteen

Sam was feeling optimistic after his conversation with Pearl last night. He had told her that he loved her daughter dearly, and he had quickly asked Pearl for her daughter's hand in marriage after he received her approval not long after he had exchanged hellos with her on the phone. He was shocked when the regal lady agreed and wholeheartedly approved the match. She told him that none of Mercedes' old excuses were valid. She had her own apartment so no busybodies could speculate on their romance, and she encouraged him to pursue her daughter with all he could muster to pierce the heavy walls that guarded her daughter's heart. Sam could barely sleep that night thinking of how he was going about to convince Mercedes to give him another chance. When he finally nodded off at three while watching coverage of Black Thursday shoppers, he came up with an idea for the two to spend some time alone with each other Christmas shopping for Maria. The first thing that Sam did after waking the next morning was to find Mercedes and place his plan into action.

"I was wondering if you would be interesting in helping me do my Christmas shopping for Maria again this year?" Sam asked hoping that Mercedes didn't remember the fiasco from last year while sitting next to her at the breakfast nook.

"Sure, I told you last time it would be best to shop online. I will figure out what she really wants today, and we could get on online after she takes a nap later today and shop without dropping." Mercedes suggested.

"If you don't have any plans, then I would be very grateful if you spend time the entire day with us, and I know Maria would be enthusiastic if you spent the entire evening with us as well." Sam said as he thought over what he had to try to accomplished that day.

"That's fine with me. I had planned to spend the day eating leftovers and avoiding my family members who wanted to go Black Friday shopping by hanging out in my apartment rather than staying in Lima and being asked to either go shopping or to babysit for the shoppers with my mom. I have been missing Maria, and I relish every opportunity I get to spend with that little girl. I didn't realize how much I would miss her once I was alone in that apartment without our little daily rituals that I had grown accustomed to experiencing with her. I will go downstairs and help her dress, and then, we will have girl talk so I can figure out what she really wants for Christmas. We should be back up in an hour or two." Mercedes said as she went down to the girl's room.

Mercedes couldn't bring herself to admit to Sam that she missed Sam as much as she missed Maria. However, she was happy that she didn't have to leave the Evans' home at any set time but could enjoy her day with Sam and Maria at leisure. Mercedes woke up the little girl, and they began to talk and when Mercedes asked her if she could have anything for Christmas what it would be, she was unprepared for the answer.

"The only thing I want for Christmas is for you to come back and live with us again. I know I get to see you at school, but it's not the same… I missed you so much… and what I want is for you to fall in love with Uncle Sam … and for you two to be my mom and dad. I want this more than anything in the entire world." The little girl said taking her time to express her thoughts into words. Mercedes couldn't keep the tears from falling down her face.

"Please Mercedes don't cry." Maria said getting up to hug her to comfort her.

"Maria, I miss you so much and I was just telling your uncle earlier the same thing. That is why when he asked me to spend the entire day with you two today I couldn't help but say yes. I know that what you want for Christmas is not something that money can buy but it is something that may take a miracle to happen. All I can say is that only person capable of doing miracles is our Lord. How about we pray that if it is God's will for your uncle and I to fall in love and get married and become your mom and dad, that it will happen. And if it's not, that God will give you the comfort and courage to accept it." Mercedes told the little girl not willing to confess her true feelings to the little girl because she was afraid Maria would let something slip to Sam. Mercedes also knew that prayer would comfort the little girl and herself. She had to start putting her money where her mouth was and walking the talk of being a person of faith.

"Okay, Mercedes, while we pray about it, can you fix my hair in two braids? Uncle Sam tries but he is unable to do my hair the way you used to do it?" The little girl asked as she turned herself around in Mercedes lap.

"Sure," Mercedes replied as she hurried her into the bathroom to get the wide tooth comb that she would need. While they were in the bathroom, Mercedes had the little girl go ahead and take a shower and then Mercedes washed and rinsed her hair. While they were doing this, the two talked about things that Maria would like to have for Christmas besides what she had stated earlier. Mercedes figured the child pretty much had everything except the one thing she wanted most a mother, but she did help her come up with some other things most of them having to do with her pony and clothes that the girl would like as presents. By the time, Mercedes had the little girl seated on her lap and began to do her hair while they prayed Mercedes realized that more than anything her heart's desire was to be this little girl's mom and Sam's wife.

It was after nine thirty when the two of them finally went down for breakfast. Sam was no where to be seen, and the two went into the kitchen to fix their favorite bowls of cereal. When Sam came in from the outside ten minutes later, he couldn't help but laugh at Mercedes' laugh. Mercedes was laughing at Maria's milk mustache, and the sound of Mercedes' chuckles were so infectious because coming out such a little person was this big laugh, and Sam couldn't help but laugh whenever he heard her. Sam got a paper towel and helped his niece wipe the milk off of her face and asked the two what were their plans for the day.

"Mercedes said she would help put up the Christmas decorations just like we did last year." Maria said excitedly. Decorating their home or Christmas was one of her favorite things to do.

"Sam, I know that we don't have enough time this year to go out and get a live tree, but you got to promise me that next year, you and Maria will go to one of the Christmas tree farms and pick out your own tree to bring home. I remember my mom and dad and one of my foster sisters going with me to get my first live Christmas tree as a youngster and that memory is forever etched into my heart. All kids need at least one live tree." Mercedes told him as they headed upstairs to the attic to get last year's decorations and pre-lit tree that Sam had picked out last year that cost almost two thousand dollars.

"Well, only if you promise to go with us and lend us your skills. I don't want to be responsible if your little angel picks out a Charlie Brown Christmas tree because it looks lonely and sad because no one else wants it. That is how she picked her pony out. He was the smallest pony she could choose from and her heart melted because of that fact. That is a reason we don't go to animal shelters, our home would be an animal rescue residence if I let her have her way which is so hard to not to do when she turns those bright eyes and charm on. She reminds me of her mother and grandmother when she does this and it gets me every time." Sam admitted after following behind Mercedes with the tree and making sure Maria was given the smaller lighter totes which contained lights or garland to take downstairs.

"Of course, I will go with you to pick out the tree; you two would need an expert's opinion. I can see you Sam and even Maria picking out a tree that would be too large even for this mausoleum of a home. I will have to make sure you get one that won't make me look like a dwarf when standing next to it." Mercedes seeing the melancholy look that went across Sam's face when mentioning his deceased loved ones decided to add humor and change the conversation. "Well, I say we put on some Christmas carols and sing them while we decorate downstairs. I don't remember some of the decorations from last year, so I am going have you in charge of transporting this stuff down while Maria and I organize and plan where we are going to put all the decorations. Just be glad that your little darling doesn't want lights all around the outside of the house. She is happy with bows and bells on the lower windows and a garland on the door. There are no houses near us and you have a private driveway so no one but you, her, and Sally would be able to enjoy them anyways." Mercedes said as she began to unpack the boxes from inside the totes with Maria's help.

Sam readily agreed to be in charge of bringing down the totes for them to sort and to decorate. He would have paid someone to decorate the house if it was left up to him, but he saw the enjoyment radiating from his niece and Mercedes each time he brought more totes down to them. The two heads were unwrapping the Christmas ornaments when Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" began to play.

Sam was shocked to see Mercedes stop Maria and began to dance with the little girl with some of the garland and sing the words to her. It was as if he was interrupting something private as Mercedes pointed to Maria every time she sang all I want for Christmas is you baby. Sam was bowled over by Mercedes' voice and wondered why she didn't push for a career as a singer, because she could do Mariah Carey's song justice something that most singers couldn't even come near to doing. When the song finished and the two began hugging, Sam didn't want to interrupt their special moment, so he headed back upstairs for the final and largest rolling tote that he was to bring down.

When he realized it was the nativity scene decorations, he wondered whether or not Maria was going to insist to setting it up in the horses' stalls again like she did last year; the manager scene with her pony looking on was one of the many pictures that Sam actually had developed and framed with Maria and Mercedes because of the joy that radiated on both their faces from their accomplishment had compelled him to use his iPhone to take a picture of their accomplishment, and the celebration of their faith as they made the modern stalls look like a historical scene of the Bible using hay and other material to give the scene the creditability that it would have otherwise lacked.

Once Maria saw her Uncle open the nativity decorations tote, her eyes widened and she begged Sam and Mercedes to go outside and helped her to decorate the stalls like they did last year. Mercedes and Sam agreed, and everybody got dressed in their coats, gloves, hats for the girls, earmuffs only for Sam and boots headed out with the rolling tote to put up their nativity scene.

By the time they made it back in, it was time for lunch and Mercedes was not surprised to see

that Maria had nodded off at the table and was ready for her afternoon nap. Sam carried her to her bedroom and tucked her into her bed after Mercedes removed her shoes and pushed the linen back. Once Maria was settled, the two made their way into the den and began to shop online for most of the items that Maria either needed or requested for Christmas. Sam was using his iPad, and he and Mercedes had to sit close to each other to see the screen. Mercedes told him he was responsible for all horse related items in which he opened a note app to list all the items Maria would need, and Mercedes, herself, would get the boots, scarves, and clothes that the little girl would need in the months to come.

They worked so well together, that by the time Maria had awakened from her nap, they were more than half way finished with the shopping with Sam allowing Mercedes to order all the clothing and accessories first so that if she had to leave before they finished, he would be able to finish shopping around for all the horse related items that his niece had requested later.

The trio began to work on the tree with Sam putting the star on the top and the ornaments and garland that needed to go on the top half of the tree while Mercedes and Maria handled the bottom and middle part of the tree. He had to listen to both of the females telling him where to put the ornaments to make sure the tree was balanced. Sam really didn't care but followed their directions until the duo were satisfied with the tree. He went to go make them all some hot cocoa while Mercedes turned the music back on and the two begin to sing along to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".

It was late almost seven o'clock when the they finally finished with decorating with Sam returning the totes and boxes back up the attic after hanging up the decorations that were too high for Mercedes to reach while on the step ladder. Sam asked her if she was willing to stay another night because he felt guilty about allowing her to travel on a dark road without even having dinner.

"I don't know Sam. I only brought clothing for one night, and I hate to put back on my Thanksgiving clothes in which I was rolling around the snow with you in or on this outfit that I have been perspiring in decorating the house and dancing around with Maria in." Mercedes said as she turned up her nose at the idea. She wanted to stay, but she didn't want to wear out her welcome.

"Nonsense! You know where the washer and dryer are, and you can go ahead and wash your clothes and put them in dryer while we are eating dinner. This has been an awesome Thanksgiving holiday because of you. I know that I have missed having you in this house. Your presence just brings joy and happiness that even though I try I can't feel the void of your absence. I would never think to sing carols and dance all crazy with Maria like you do. You have blessed us tremendously, and I know I am being greedy by taking up the last of your holiday, but I would really appreciate if you would stay another night."

"Well, since you have the good taste to appreciate a quality guest, I guess I shall agree." Mercedes told him sounding like a Brit from _Downton Abbey _to let Sam know she was partially kidding.

Maria chose that moment to come back into the den asking why Mercedes was speaking in such a funny voice. When Mercedes told the little girl that she was staying another night, tears of joy leaked out of her eyes, and she hugged Mercedes so excited thinking that her prayers were well on the way to being answered.

Sam had Sally prepared some meals that he and Maria could heat up and not have to worry about cooking or going out to eat while she was on vacation. He decided to warm up the chicken, and broccoli casserole for their dinner while Maria went with Mercedes to wash her clothes. The two decided since it was so late to go ahead and let Maria take a shower while Mercedes was washing her clothes and Mercedes would help Maria into her pjs. Sam was busy tossing the salad when Mercedes and Maria came into the kitchen thirty minutes later.

The females set the table while he brought the casserole, salad, and bread onto the table along with bottles of water and green tea. Later on, they made quick work of eating dinner and cleaning up. They decided to watch _Frozen _after finishing their meal and were not surprised to find that Maria had fallen asleep half-way through the movie. Sam carried the sleepy girl to the bahtroom so she could brush her teeth and gargle before putting her in the bed. She begged for both of them to stay while she said her nightly prayers. After she finished praying, they kissed her forehead and said goodnight and exited the room.

Mercedes felt as if this should be their routine every night. She wanted to be a part of the Evans' family. That tender bedroom scene replayed itself in her heart. She wanted to have Sam as her husband and Maria as her daughter more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. When she followed Sam back into the great room to finish watching the movie, Mercedes watched Sam to see if he could sense the change going on inside of her. She hoped all of her rejections hadn't made him lose all his hope in having her as his wife. She hoped she hadn't messed up the one thing that she really wanted because of her actions in the past.

Not known for being subtle when being direct worked twice as fast, Mercedes decided to ask him about his personal life as soon as the movie was over. "Sam I know this is none of my business, and as a friend, I am stepping out of line in getting personal with you. I know almost a year ago, you thought I was the wife that you wanted. Now that we have had time apart have you changed your mind?" She asked finally getting straight to the point.

Sam was shocked. He did not, even in his wildest dreams, imagine her ever broaching the subject of them together in a relationship again. "No, I haven't changed my mind. My feelings concerning you have not changed at all." Sam admitted shocked that all the plans he had come up with to broach the subject to Mercedes were now thrown out of the window.

"I just want you to know that I feel that it is my destiny to be your wife as well as Maria's mom. As soon as you stopped pressuring me and let me go, I began to develop deeper feelings for you. As I watched you mature in the Lord, I became more tempted to be more than your sister in faith and friend. So, I tried to distance myself to keep my heart guarded from you, but I became so miserable without you that I couldn't keep you out of my life. Tonight when we were kissing Maria goodnight, I realized for the first time that I wanted to do that forever with you." She admitted holding nothing back.

Sam could not believe his ears. He had to pinch himself to make sure he was awake. If this was a dream, he never wanted it to end. It was if God was finally giving him all of his hopes and dreams in the most simplistic way he could have thought of. He tried to be nonchalant but could not stop from asking the question that he had been longing to do so for over a year. "So, do I finally have permission to court you with every intention to marry you as soon as possible?" Sam waited to hear her say the words that he had been longing to hear since he met her. He was so excited that he was shocked at his calm exterior that he was portraying to Mercedes.

"Yes to both questions. I do give you permission to court me and marry me, but I must ask you that you not rush me into an engagement too soon. I know you probably would like to get married tomorrow, but I think we should actually date first and get to know each other as romantic interests before we dive into an engagement and a wedding." Mercedes said and allowed him to hug her with all the warmth and love that she had never allowed in the past. She couldn't stop him from kissing her even though she knew it was too soon, but those lips had a starring role in most of her dreams, and she couldn't stop him from doing something that she had been wanting for almost half a year. As soon as the kiss began to get too heated when Sam's hand began to travel under her shirt and/or below her waist, Mercedes would stop him. When she saw the desire in his eyes, Mercedes knew it was time to get her clothes out of the dryer and return to her old bedroom to use the en suite bathroom to take her shower to calm herself down and hopefully allow her to sleep without thinking of the strong arms and hard chest that Sam possessed or his soft warm lips and delectable smell and taste. Mercedes knew that tonight would be the last night she would be spending underneath the Evans' home because she didn't think neither she nor he were strong enough to resist temptation.

As soon as Sam saw Mercedes leave him and head towards the laundry room with her whispered goodnight, Sam couldn't stop a smile from spreading over his face. Part of him wanted to believe that he was dreaming that he fell asleep during that blasted movie that his niece had made him watch so many times that he knew both the words of the characters and the songs. However the erection in his pants and the longing to feel that soft body cuddled in his arms again were more real than any experience that he had ever had with Mercedes Jones. He licked his lips enjoying the remnants of her lip gloss and her taste and he couldn't help but pump his fist and do a little dance to celebrate the fact that he was finally getting chance to be with the woman who had captured his heart when she came to interview for a job and he didn't know how he was going to be able to fall asleep knowing that his heart's desire was in his home and that she had finally agreed to be his.


	16. Chapter 16

**_Author's Note: Don't own any songs, movies, TV shows, or any other copyrighted info used in this fiction. Thanks again to all the people who have either read, reviewed, favorited, or followed this story. The story's title will be the theme of the following chapters as the two fight the temptation to not bed before wed, but the rating of K+ means you have to use your imagination more so than depend on the words I type to see this. Hopefully, this story will be finished by the first weekend in November._**

Chapter Sixteen

Sam barely slept at all that night. Every time he closed his eyes visions of Mercedes' face and her lips in particular would be brought to his memory. The feel of her lips, the taste of her mouth, and the little throaty sounds that she made when she let herself go and kissed him back with answering passion was enough to keep him up all night long knowing that there were only so many feet separating him from her bedroom. Fighting temptations were hard and he so wanted to snuggle with her and just sleep with her in his arms not anything sexually inappropriate but just to fall asleep with the love of his life in his arms was something that Sam couldn't wait to do. 'Why wait?' the question permeated his mind with no answer that made sense. He couldn't think of reason why he couldn't fly Mercedes, Pearl, and Maria to Vegas or anywhere close to them that they could elope to. His imagination allowed him to think of all the ways that he could he convince Mercedes that a speedy ceremony was necessary, but when he opened his eyes, he knew that Mercedes would shoot down any idea that he could think of.

Mercedes Jones soon to be Mercedes Evans was another thought that would take over his mind when his hormones settled down and he would be about to doze off into sleep. He couldn't believe that Mercedes Jones was finally almost his wife. He knew that she didn't want him to rush into a proposal of marriage and that she would definitely not agree to a speedy elopement, but he so wanted to strike while the iron was hot and guarantee that she would be his wife by putting a ring on it as soon as he possibly could. However, the rational part of his mind understood Mercedes' desire to be wooed. Most women wanted to be wined and dined and catered to, and he would devote the rest of the year to courting his lady in the manner that would befit a princess. He would try to be all the man that she needed so that when it became time for him to properly propose, Mercedes wouldn't have a reason to not accept his proposal or his hand in marital bliss.

Meanwhile, downstairs although Mercedes was giddy, she had no problem falling asleep that night. In fact, she woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. She wasn't going to let Maria know that what she wanted for Christmas was well on the way to becoming a reality. She decided that announcing the change in her and Sam's relationship to the little girl on Christmas would be the best Christmas present that she and Sam could give to the angel faced darling.

Mercedes was going to be a wife and a mom. Wow, in theory the two things sounded spectacular but in reality stepping into those two roles were more than a little overwhelming. To clear her mind from the rising panic, she got up and took her shower and began to sing her favorite Christmas songs to get herself in the holiday mood. By the time that she finished showering and dressing, Maria was up and wanting to take her shower and get dressed for the day as well. Mercedes redid her hair into the braids that the little girl loved tying ribbons on the end to coordinate with her outfit. Mercedes had put on the clothes she had worn for Thanksgiving which were some gray jeggings and a mid thigh length gray and purple sweater dress. She would put on her purple boots when she got ready to leave and repacked her overnight bag to contain her night gown, toiletries, and the clothing she had on yesterday.

While she was doing Maria's hair, Mercedes had been convinced to stay as long as she possibly could that day with Maria. Maria wanted to spend time doing arts and crafts after breakfast, and that is how Sam found the two when he finally came downstairs late because exhaustion hit him like a brick wall at six that morning, and he slept until eleven. Seeing the two doing arts and crafts surprised Sam. They were still listening and singing Christmas carols while snacking on popcorn and drinking juice while they created their masterpieces. Sam had taken art classes in high school and college and could do macaroni art and drawings with the same ease as he did fifteen years ago when he first began exploring the artistic side of himself.

Sam got some of their paper and began to draw the two most important females in his life, as they colored, designed jewelry, and did water colors. Sam enjoyed just being in their presence and only finished the outlines of drawing before it was lunch time.

They all decided to go out to eat for lunch and watch a movie in the movie theater for the afternoon matinee. Maria was excited about seeing _Frozen 2,_ and Mercedes couldn't hide her own eagerness in wanting to see the movie as well. Sam couldn't believe that he was going to have to sit through another version of the movie, but he was happy that at least he wouldn't know the words or lyrics to the songs so he might be able to enjoy himself. Sam was surprised when Maria sat on the left side of Mercedes instead of in the middle where she normally sat at the theater. Sam was able to sit by Mercedes and he had to force himself to spend more time watching the movie than stealing glances her way. Sam couldn't tell anyone anything about the movie other than snow and singing because his mind was on Mercedes Jones, and his eyes couldn't help but turn towards the object of his devotion.

Mercedes tried to ignore Sam and enjoy the movie, but she could feel his intense gaze on her. When they both reached in for popcorn at the same time and dropped their handfuls and began to hold hands with each other, Mercedes felt her heart melt. She was becoming one of those sappy heroines in the Harlequin romance novels her deceased grandmother loved to read about. She never thought that the feelings she had for Sam coupled with the way he made her feel would actually be so intoxicating. There was nothing like being in love and being loved by someone. It was such a roller coaster ride of emotions with peaks and lows, but she wouldn't trade the way she felt or the way Sam made her feel for anything.

Soon the movie was over and Mercedes followed the Evans into their home and retrieved her belongings knowing that if she didn't leave right at that moment that she never would. Sam carried Maria to her room and placed her on the bed for her nap and Mercedes kissed the girl on her forehead telling her goodbye then went next door to gather her things.

"Is there nothing I can do to convince you to stay another night with us?" Sam asked as soon as he saw her coming out with her overnight case.

"There is nothing that I would rather do than to spend the rest of the day and night with you two, but I am not willing to force myself into trying to resist the temptation of keeping my hands and lips off of you." Mercedes shocked both herself and him by being completely honest.

Sam's eyes grew wide as he listened to Mercedes' response. That woman was going to be the death of him; she had succeeded in prompting his mind to imagine how both of them would be fighting their natural instincts in not trying to consummate their relationship before marriage. After taking a deep cleansing breath, Sam was able to reply.

"Well, I am glad I am not the only one who is having a hard time stopping when we kiss." Sam admitted before continuing, "You are just going to have to stop being so incredibly beautiful and tempting so I won't want to kiss you and touch you all the time." He joked trying to inject humor into their situation.

"Oh, I will stop being so beautiful when you stop being so handsome that it is flat out rude, and then I think when you accomplish that I will no longer want to marry you anyway," Mercedes teased him back.

"Just come here woman and give me a goodnight hug and kiss before I have to spank you for even saying such depraved things. You are going to keep being breathtakingly beautiful, and you are going to become Mrs. Mercedes Evans my wife as soon as we can plan a wedding." Sam told her grabbing her up in his arms to hug her and inhale her sweet smell before gently giving her the shortest and most innocent kiss that he had ever shared with her. He was just barely caressing her lips when he felt the surge of heat go to his loins, and he released her before he could start something that he knew was not going to end with her in his bed so why bother torturing himself with a possible erection and having his mind fantasize about all he wanted to do with her not just to her.

Mercedes laughed and hugged Sam and was pleasantly surprised at the gentle kiss he gave her. The kiss which was almost innocent in nature only made her want more, and she was tempted to take control of the kiss but knew she should leave while she could. So after whispering her love and goodbye to Sam, she quickly left the house with legs that were close to buckling because she really didn't want to leave the man that she now knew she loved with all of her heart. Mercedes decided to drive to Lima instead of heading home so she could talk to her mother about all that had transpired. Sam told her he had asked her mom's permission for courtship and for her hand in marriage, and Mercedes was so happy that her mom had given her blessing. By the time she had made it to Lima, it was already six o'clock, and she knew she shouldn't stay there long knowing that church was tomorrow and she wasn't going to miss it. She was excited about going to church true enough, but she couldn't deny that part of that excitement was that thought of seeing and spending time with Sam and Maria the next day.

Later that evening, Mercedes drove home in a daze. Her mind was thinking about the dinner she had just shared with her mom while she told her the good news. She hadn't remained at her mom's house for a prolonged amount of time. While she was driving her home, it was as if a light bulb had gone off in her head, and she was finally giddy with the realization that she was going to be engaged to and married to Sam Evans. Actually talking about her relationship with Sam to her mother made everything that had happened over the weekend feel more real than ever. Her Thanksgiving break had been so perfect that the days were almost dream like.

However, talking with her mom made Mercedes realized that her relationship with Sam Evans was not some fantasy but in fact was the real thing. She, who had almost given up hope of ever getting married because in Lima Ohio the chance of her meeting her soul mate was like one million to one, was being courted with the intentions of marriage. These thoughts and thoughts of her future kept her alert as she drove almost three hours to her apartment. By the time she got out of her car and into her home, she was too tired to do anything. The first thing she did was lock her door and then she went into her bathroom for a shower before putting on her pjs and later climbing into her bed at midnight. As soon as she had shut her eyes to get some sleep, she heard the phone ringing. She thought it was her mother checking to see if she had made it to her apartment safely, so she made herself wake up to answer it, saying in a sleepy voice. "Hello."

"Hi, Mercedes, I was just calling to make sure you made it home all right. I was just a little concern at you having to drive so late at night knowing you were up early this morning." Sam said knowing she was tired, but he couldn't keep himself from checking to make sure she had made it home safe and sound.

"I understand your concern" She broke off yawning. She really did understand, but she was exhausted and incapable of carrying on a conversation, so she quickly told him without pausing, "I have got to get some sleep now before I crash. I will see you and Maria in the morning. Thanks for checking up on me. Goodnight…" She said as she hung up the phone not waiting for his response collapsing into sleep.

Sam knew in his gut that she had been all right. He just couldn't sleep after receiving her text before she left her mom's house telling him to give Maria a goodnight kiss for her as she was now headed home after having a fabulous dinner with her mom. A huge part of him just wanted to make sure that she hadn't have an accident and had made it home safely which prompted his phone call. He had been tempted to call her and talk to her while she was driving, but he knew that talking on a cell phone while driving in the snow was not the safest thing to do at nighttime, and he wanted her attention to be on the road and not on him as she made it back home.

The realization that Mercedes was going to be his wife still hadn't fully penetrated his brain; nevertheless, he was already in overprotective mode regarding her health and well-being, and she wasn't even officially his fiancée. He knew he would have to proceed cautiously so that he wouldn't overwhelm her with the love and attention that he had been willing to bestow on her after their first meeting which would be over two years ago in March. The time had flown by fast. And waiting for her had been well worth the wait. He went to bed that night finally totally at peace. Everything was lining up the way it should be-the MRH Homes, his relationship with Mercedes, and most importantly his relationship with Maria.

On Sunday morning, Sam was anxious to see Mercedes. It was as if he hadn't just seen her less than 24 hours ago. He woke up with a song in his heart and helped Maria get ready before heading off to pick Mercedes up for church with the biggest smile on his face. Maria noticing her uncle's mood had been just as happy because his happiness made her happy, too. He played Pharell's song "Happy" and the two of them sung the song as they headed towards Mercedes' duplex.

When Mercedes came outside, Sam couldn't stop himself from giving her a hug as he opened up the passenger side door for her as she got in car. Sam looked at her and couldn't remember her looking more beautiful. She seemed to be glowing and looking at him with love in her eyes. They rode together to church allowing Maria to dominate the conversation. Sam knew that Maria would be ecstatic about his marrying Mercedes, but he decided to wait and tell her on Christmas as Mercedes had suggested that he do so it would be a Christmas gift from the both of them to her that the little girl would never forget.

During the service, Mercedes chided herself to keep her attention on what Pastor Larry was saying. She had always sat by Sam at church, but for the first time, she felt his presence beside her in a new way. She wanted to lean back into his arms and whisper to him whenever the preacher said something that was profound to her. However, she resisted this temptation because nobody knew about their change in relationship status. She tried to act normally and didn't spare Sam a glance during the service only speaking to him as they left the church.

"That was a good sermon." She said as they headed towards Sam's SUV. Mercedes stopped talking noticing the script that Maria had in her hand. The children must have already begun practicing for the Christmas pageant.

"I had fun in children's church. We rehearsed our lines for the Christmas pageant and songs." Maria said humming 'Away in a Manager'.

"Why don't we go to a restaurant for dinner today?" Sam asked knowing this would allow him to spend extra time with Mercedes if they stopped to eat.

"Where are you taking us?" Mercedes asked as they began to leave the city limits.

"I was thinking we could take a look at the MRH Home in Columbus after we have lunch while we are down there. It's only a two hour ride from here." Sam said as he got on the interstate when he didn't hear any dissents. He continued driving listening to Maria and Mercedes sing the carols that would be sung in the Christmas pageant. Listening to them singing "Silent Night" with Mercedes singing alto and Maria a sweet soprano, Sam knew how blessed he was. He joined in the singing of the other songs when he turned on the Christian radio station that was playing carols as well. They were still singing when they arrived at the Home.

After they got of the SUV, they walked into the entrance of the MRH Home. It was beautiful on the outside. It was a red brick building that looks like a normal house. When they went inside, they could see instead of just having household furniture that each room was designed for its purpose. Some rooms were large enough for group counseling. Other rooms were small and private with a cozy appeal. There was a big room to the back of the house that was large enough for special functions.

The top level of the house was restricted to personnel, and it looked like just like any normal business office. The library was located downstairs. It contained all kinds of helpful information concerning terminal diseases and pamphlets on a variety of subjects. There were Bibles as well as other inspirational books on the shelves. The library had been her part of the vision. Mercedes convinced Sam to make it apart of each home because the people would need access to the materials located there on hand in case an unorthodox situation arose. Being prepared was not just the Boys Scout motto but her way of thinking as well. The library had two computers with Internet capabilities networked to a printer. The printer and one computer was in the check out area for staff usage, and the other computer was in the open for people to take turn using if they needed to print out anything. With free wireless access and the trend towards using cell phones for internet access, Mercedes and Sam both agreed that having more computers would be a waste. If more technology was needed in the future, they could always have cheaper tablets available for check out as well to meet the needs of the people who would be in need of using the Home.

When they left the Home, Mercedes told Sam how she felt and hugged him in congratulations of a job well done. She couldn't believe how quickly the Home was set up and almost ready for its grand opening next month. After eating out at the Mexican restaurant that Sam had fallen in love with during his many trips to Columbus while finalizing the set up of the Home, they rode back with Maria falling asleep as soon as the heater warmed the SUV to a comfortable temperature.

Maria was still asleep when Sam had driven them back to Solon and had arrived at Mercedes' apartment, and Mercedes saw this as the perfect opportunity to say a private goodbye to Sam as she gently kissed him telling him that she loved him when Sam helped her out of the vehicle. His hugs were so good that she had a hard time letting him go which she was finally able to do because the cold air had begun to seep into her bones. She let Sam go prompting him to release her as she told him goodbye and hurried inside to her warm apartment.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Author's Note: Don't own any copyrighted info used in this fiction. Themes of religion and family included in this chapter. I am truly grateful to all you who take the time to read or reread the newly edited version of this story. It warms my heart to see the reviews and new followers and favoriters which make taking the time to rewrite and publish this story on so worth it. **_

Chapter Seventeen

Mercedes regretted having to go to work that Monday. She knew her holiday was officially over and she had to get back to the daily grind, but it was so hard to concentrate on work when thoughts of Sam, his lips, his kisses, his body, flooded her brain during waking and sleeping hours. She spent Sunday night thinking about him and when she went to sleep, she had dreams of him all the night long. Waking up and praying and drinking some hot cocoa with marshmallows got her in a better mood as she headed towards to the Evans' home to pick Maria up to take her to school.

As she pulled in the driveway she got out of her automobile instead of waiting for Sam to bring Maria to her which was their usual routine. She was early for once because she didn't eat breakfast just made the instant cocoa and dashed out of the door after her morning shower,meditation time, and getting dressed for the cold late autumn near winter day.

She rang the doorbell anticipating that Sam would be too busy getting Maria ready to open the door, and she was right and was unsurprised when Sally who was back from vacation greeted her and led her inside to wait on the Evanses, while Sally went back into the kitchen to finish their breakfast, Mercedes headed towards Maria's room. As soon as she got closer to the little's girl room, she could hear Maria complaining about her hair. The ponytails that Sam had fixed had one higher on one side than the other, and the little girl was demanding that her uncle to take them down and start again. Mercedes couldn't help but chuckle as she peeked through the door to see Sam with one elastic band in his mouth and using the comb trying the line up where the other ponytail to go to make it even. She cleared her throat to let them both know that she was there watching the two in amusement.

"There are such things as answered prayers please Mercedes take over and finish the brat's hair; the little darling can't imagine wearing a true Sam Evans' original hairstyle to school. The youth just don't know a good hairstyle when they see it." Sam joked as he beckoned Mercedes in with his hand after letting go his niece's hair and taking the elastic band out of his mouth.

"Maria, you promised me that you would allow your uncle to fix your hair in one ponytail or leave it hanging loose with headband on top, so we wouldn't be late for school. Has one week of Thanksgiving break made you forget our deal?" Mercedes asked the little girl as she did her hair in two even ponytails so she could wear the bows that matched her outfit.

"I know, but I really wanted to wear my snowflake bows. They are like my favorite movie Frozen, and I wanted to show them to Mary Margaret, Rebekah, and Tiffany. Sorry Uncle Sam and sorry Miss Cedes." Maria apologized a Mercedes put the finishing touches to her hair.

"I didn't know we were running late moppet." Sam told his niece as he looked for her clock. He didn't bother with his watch since he hadn't taken his shower, if Mercedes was in the house instead of waiting on them in her car, then they must be incredibly late, and Maria hadn't even eaten breakfast yet.

"You are not late Sam, I am early. I didn't make breakfast this morning only drinking some hot chocolate which spoilt my appetite." She said looking at Maria who was looking like she wanted to ask for the same thing for breakfast that Mercedes had drunk earlier.

"Well, you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so I insist that you eat breakfast with us before taking the love bug to school." Sam said as he ushered his girls out of Maria's bedroom with her backpack on his arm as he led them to the dining room where a buffet of eggs cooked three different ways, turkey bacon, toast, hash browns, oatmeal, whole grain waffles and pancakes, and various fruits were in the center of the table. Sally had a Dr. Oz addiction and believed that Sam should eat like a king in the mornings so breakfasts at the Evans household was the most caloric meal of the day.

"I think you should join us every morning for breakfast it will be like our family date." Sam suggested to Mercedes as Sally helped Maria clean her face and brush her teeth before heading out for school.

"That's a good idea. Nobody does breakfast like Sally, and I might be able to convince her to make the spinach, feta cheese, and mushroom omelet that I haven't had since I moved out." Mercedes said teasing Sam that she was tempted because of the food to come in the mornings and not because of the company.

"I think you should try tasting me. I think I taste better than the omelet you love so much, I know that you do." Sam said as he gave her a quick open mouth kiss taking his time to lick her lips before assisting her into her automobile. He knew his kiss had to be quick if he didn't want Maria to catch them kissing, so he couldn't linger like he would have liked.

"I think you almost taste as good as the omelet." Mercedes told him licking her lips slowly as to savor his taste after recovering from the short but thorough kiss. Sam tasted like coffee and orange juice not too bad not bad at all, but she enjoyed teasing him and flirting with him something that she hadn't done with a male in a while, and it made her feel young and free and desirable.

Before Sam could utter a reply Maria burst outside with her backpack running towards them and launching herself into his arms for her goodbye kiss and hug. Sam told his niece that she looked perfect and pretty and that he loved her so much before taking her to the back seat and securing her into the booster seat in the back of the vehicle. They exchanged goodbyes as Sam returned a heated glance towards Mercedes telling her their talk wasn't over yet and to drive safely as he watched the two head out of the driveway.

That afternoon when Mercedes brought Maria home and helped her with her homework and her parts for the church Christmas pageant, Sam once again asked Mercedes to stay for dinner and a movie. Mercedes agreed not wanting to go home, and the pattern was established that she spent weekday mornings with the Evans before school and afternoon and evenings with them after school. She only left after Maria was put in bed and after exchanging heated goodnight kisses with Sam. The kisses were getting longer and turning into make out sessions which made Mercedes' desire for Sam grow with such intensity that she started to drop hints to Sam that she was ready to end this courtship and get married.

Mercedes could barely get last night's make-out session out of her mind because of the dreams that had followed. She dreamed that Sam had proposed and they were married and on their honeymoon, and as a virgin, Mercedes was surprised by the eroticism and content of the dream which begin with Sam licking her body and doing things to her that she had only read about in books but had resulted in so much pleasure that she could still remember her screams of pleasure that followed. After waking up in a cold sweat and having to take a hot shower before going back to sleep, Mercedes didn't want a prolonged engagement filled with more restless nights because her body was wanting one the thing that she was denying it…sexual pleasure with the love of her life.

Sam felt the same way as Mercedes. He didn't know how to broach the subject to her because he didn't want to put a stop to their nightly loving, but he had to resort to hand jobs every night after she left his home or he would have wet dreams and he was too old of a man to be suffering from blue balls. After having his hot fiancée lips on him in kisses that were scorching in their intensity how she would playfully nip his lips with her teeth and the way she would suck on his lips and his tongue kept him aroused, and he couldn't help but to imagine how those lips would feel everywhere on his entire body and every time that thought came to his mind the one place that he wanted her lips the most would become hard and erect.

After their last make-out session in which she allowed him to put his hands under her shirt but over her bra, Sam knew he wouldn't be able to resist making Mercedes his for much longer. The feel and smell of her satiny skin was making the temptation to keep things rated PG between them harder than he ever imagined. So, he decided it was time to speed up their courtship. He wanted Mercedes to meet and get to know Maria's grandparents since Mercedes would become their granddaughter's new mother. He didn't need their permission to propose to Mercedes, but he respected the couple enough to want to give them a chance to meet Mercedes as his intended wife and not as Maria's nanny so that they could freely give their blessings for their union. If Mercedes wanted a big church wedding, the couple would be the closest thing that Sam had to a family besides Maria. He didn't want to leave them out.

The night that school was closed for Christmas holidays, Sam broached the subject to Mercedes. He had talked to John and Denise, and they were excited about spending some of the Christmas holiday in Ohio with Maria and being present at the grand opening of the MRH Home in Columbus as special guests. The two were very involved in volunteering at the Home in Tennessee and were excited that Sam had turned his life around and was helping others and not burying himself in work. Sam gave all the credit to Mercedes, and the couple already thought Mercedes was perfect after hearing both Maria and Sam continuously brag on her in the last couple of years.

Sam and Mercedes discussed the details of how Mercedes was going to be responsible for picking up Maria's grandparents on her way back from picking up her mother for the grand opening since she was responsible for dressing and bringing Maria while Sam was going to stay the night in Columbus at the house to prepare for the opening that Monday. Sam expressed his concern with her being on the road so much. She told him to not worry that she would get plenty of rest each time she was on the road. By the time Mercedes had reassured him and got all the logistics squared away, it was time for Mercedes to go home before it was too dark and too cold for nighttime traveling.

Sam tried to convinced her to stay the night, so she wouldn't have to go back home so late, but Mercedes knew that she needed to flee temptation. Sam would want a nightly kiss, the nightly kiss would turn into making out in which she would constantly be busy trying to track down his large hands and keeping them on top of her bra and above her waist. Thinking how crazy they both had been when they agreed that they were least likely to want premarital sex if they could resist touching each other's genital areas but each night the fight to keep Sam's hands above the waist was getting harder and harder for Mercedes; she so wanted to guide those fingers to the place she felt the emptiest and was hot and wet for him.

Because Mercedes was a virgin, she knew it was a lot easier on her than it was on Sam, but Sam knew what he was getting into when he got in a relationship with her; she was going to wait until marriage no matter how seductive Sam was or how erotic her dreams were. She could do all things through Christ who strengthen her she kept saying as she gave into Sam's nightly kiss but ended it before his hands could travel. Mercedes headed quickly to her car telling him goodnight and was grateful that air was so cold that it was able to calm both of them down as she watch Sam watch her drive away from his home.

* * *

"So, how are my granddaughter and her uncle doing?" Denise asked as John loaded the trunk with their luggage to the van's boot. Maria and Pearl were in the van all nice and warm after greeting the couple and welcoming them to Ohio, the two got back in the van, so that Maria could continue to play her game, and Pearl could rest her leg; the cold weather made her arthritis flare up and was quite painful at times if she was exposed to too much cold air.

"They are doing fine. Maria really loves her new school. She has been practicing for the Christmas pageant during church and is very excited about that. Sam has been working hard getting the first MRH Home in Ohio established. Since he has cut back on his business, he has more time to spend with Maria than ever before." Mercedes informed her as John got in the SUV. She began to concentrate on her driving while she got them out of the airport and onto the interstate.

"We can't wait to be a part of the grand opening. It's like God is continuing to overcome what the devil meant for bad with good." John said as he sat in the front seat. Although he was modern man and only 49 years old, John was unaccustomed to letting a woman young enough to be his daughter chauffeur him around. He continued to monitor her driving skills almost asking whether or not she wanted him to drive but being put to ease when she got on the interstate and seemed to know the way so well that she was driving on autopilot.

"I can never understand what you two went through with the loss of your son and daughter-in-law. All I know is God's will for their lives were completed, and I know they are happy in heaven now looking down on us from time to time. You were blessed that you had your son for twenty odd years. Some people lose their children before they are able to experience graduations, weddings, and births of first children." Mercedes said wanting to comfort the couple.

"Yes, we have to look at it that way to not feel the sting of their deaths. People are always asking us as ministers why does God allow bad things to happen to His people. We know no word can give them comfort, but we cling to the Amplified version of the Bible and meditate on 2 Corinthians 7:10 which state 'For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death].' Meditating on this word and having trust and faith in God allows us to experience the pain that never fully goes away. Time doesn't heal all wounds, but our faith in God allows us to know that one day we will see our son and daughter in law again. We are blessed in a lot of ways like Joe and Stacey were saved when they died. We know that they are with God and are doing far better than we are now which keeps us heartened." Denise and John explained together tag teaming this response because at the MRH Home in Tennessee they had counseled a lot of people and were accustomed to answering this question a lot.

Mercedes thought how about how beautiful the couple was and how beautiful their actions were as well. She listened to them as they got caught up with their granddaughter and engaged her mother in conversation. The questions they wanted to know from Mercedes were about Maria's transition from being an only student to being one of a classroom of students, and Mercedes reassured them that Maria was excelling in everything and that the school was helping her to develop socially. Also since the school was private, the class size was relatively small. They were content to direct the rest of the conversation back to Pearl and Maria which allowed Mercedes to focus on driving knowing there would be plenty of time for the couple to chat with her and Sam later that week. Before Mercedes knew it, they were already in Columbus and she park the van next to Sam's car, Mercedes got out and helped her mom get her dress bag out and her items before being assisted by John who insisted that he get out all the lady's belongings and allowed Mercedes only to show him where to put each person's outfits and toiletries for the opening ceremony.

After exiting the van and helping her mother as much as Pearl would allow, Mercedes could feel herself becoming lost in her thoughts as she went about doing the things that needed to be done before the night's event began. Mercedes couldn't remember the last time she got to dress up and was excited to spend the majority of the day getting ready for tonight's grand opening. Mercedes and her mom had gotten their hair styled while she was in Lima. She also went shopping for a formal dress along with her mother and Maria at her favorite store before picking up the Harts at the airport. Mercedes was so glad that the Home had enough rooms and space for the Harts, Sam, Maria, her mom, and herself to get ready after they all had lunch with Sam when they had finished unloading the van and organizing everyone's belongings.

Sam was scheduled to be back to the Home at two o'clock. So, they didn't linger over lunch. The grand opening wasn't until five, but Mercedes knew that there was much more to work to be done and she wanted to be ready ahead of time just in case she was needed. She finished getting ready and then went to get Maria ready. Mercedes' mom and Denise shooed her way; both enjoying spending time with the little girl to make sure she was picture perfect and after complimenting Mercedes on her gown, they encouraged her to go see if Sam needed any help telling her they had it all under control.

When she saw Sam in the hallway as she was exiting the changing room after making sure Maria was indeed not being a brat but allowing the older women to dress her like a living doll and to put the final touches of her hair, so Mercedes was able to leave her with a guilt-free conscious. She was however not prepared to see Sam in his finery. He was the epitome of male perfection, and she could honestly say for the first time that a man had taken her breath away as she paused and took in how fine and magnificent her man was.

Sam couldn't believe how beautiful Mercedes was. The first thought to come to his head was taking her and eloping and forgetting about the MRH Home opening. His eyes reflected his love for her and when she caught his heated gaze it was if she began to glow, and this glow made her appear even more desirable to him. He was going to have to keep his distance from her tonight, so he could keep his mind clear on the tasks at hand. He was unable to trust himself from keeping his hands off of that gorgeous red gown she had on. Red was definitely her color he thought as he bit his lip and then had to turn away when he heard the manager for the facility calling his name.

The evening was filled with so many things to do, but Mercedes was able to see to it that everyone had a fabulous time at the opening celebration. Many reporters were there and pictures were taken of Sam and Maria with the Harts. She was included in several of them as well as interviewed by the reporters because of her involvement in the first home in Tennessee. She had most of the background information in which the current employees were not privy to and if the reporters couldn't get the information they needed from Sam, then she was the next person they went to. She tried her best to become a consummate hostess and took to her duties like fish to water even though she was not prepared to be placed in this role. She was always a people person and a performer. She acted the role given to her based on need. This grand opening was much larger than the one in Tennessee, so she and Sam were incredibly busy answering questions, and she hardly noticed that she was rarely near Sam during the entire night. After the reception, she made sure all arrangements for clean up were ready to commence and headed to find the Harts, Maria, and her mother to take them home.

Sam saw that Mercedes was looking for her mother and the Harts, so he rushed up to her. "John volunteered to take Maria home before she fell asleep at the table, and your mother was grateful for the opportunity to leave early as well you know how she likes to be in bed before nine." Sam told Mercedes when he noticed her looking for everyone. John, Denise, Pearl, and Maria had all left earlier. Pearl said she would make sure that John got them to the Evans' home, and Sam had programmed the GPS to make sure that he wouldn't have problems getting there. Pearl and Mercedes were going to stay in their old rooms for the night, and Mercedes was going to take her mom home the next day to give Sam and Maria some time alone with their guests. John, who hadn't felt comfortable allowing Mercedes to drive him and his wife from the airport, was ecstatic about finally being able to be the southern gentleman and drive the ladies back while Mercedes stayed and help Sam.

"Well, I am glad that Maria was not kept up too late. I don't even know how I got caught up in being a hostess, but it was fun. I enjoyed telling people about the Home and can't wait to see the lives that will be changed from it being here." Mercedes said as she looked at the place becoming more and more deserted.

"Yes, tonight and the future help that this place will be make all the work that we have put into it well worth it. I will be taking you home in a few minutes. I am just waiting for the caterers and their staff to leave before my manager of the Home is left to lock up the place." Sam told her because he knew she was wondering why they were still just standing there. "I wanted to thank you for driving to and from Lima, picking up Maria's grandparents, and pitching in to help tonight. I don't know what I would have done without your valuable help. It seems that God uses you as my angel more times than not since we have met. And I thought I was the one helping you when we first met when in fact you have helped my niece and me more than I could ever dream." Sam said as he led her to the sports car he had driven for that night.

"You don't have to thank me Sam, but I won't be rude and will say that you are welcome. I am just blessed to be a part of your dream. I don't mind helping at all. It brings out the chameleon in me. I felt like I was onstage again doing musical theater and given a part to act as a society hostess." Mercedes said as she buckled her safety belt.

"I didn't want to mention it; since, we are not alone earlier, but I have to tell you that you were the most beautiful woman in the entire room tonight." Sam said putting the car in gear and backing out.

"Thank you kind, sir." She accepted the compliment with her heart and had to admit that she felt a little giddy inside because he thought she was beautiful knowing that they were several women there who mainstream society would deem more beautiful than her. But, she no longer cared what others thought or would think about her. As long as her man, family, and friends thought she was beautiful, their opinions were the only ones that truly mattered.

When they arrived at back in Solon, it was eleven o'clock, and Mercedes knew she had to be up early to return to Lima the next day. She told Sam goodnight and headed to her old room after a brief kiss because they were too tired for any other passionate display of their affections in the hallway. As she undressed, she thanked God for blessing her with such a man to love her and care for others. She unpacked her toiletry bag, took her shower, and got ready for bed. She fell into a deep sleep because the day had been long and she had accomplished a lot and her body was now glad that it could finally rest.

* * *

_**A/N continued: I am trying to do a honeymoon epilogue that will be posted on Tumblr for abbie_carr but my inspiration won't come until I finish this story but I tried to incorporate a tiny bit of Samcedes purity angst in this chapter and will probably increase the sexual tensions in the next chapter as well to help me with my writer's block. My muse wants me to write another epilogue for ATC whenever I let my creative juices out so so far nothing has been written.**_


	18. Chapter 18

**_Author's Note: Don't own any copyrighted info used in this fiction. When I first wrote this chapter, it was my favorite one because it's Samcedes filled to the brim something that the story had been lacking since they finally got together. I only made a few changes to this chapter because I am still in writer's block land. I am once again going to give a well deserved shout-out to all you who take the time to read or reread the newly edited version of this story. Thanks for the reviews and new and old followers and favoriters who are enjoying reading this story. Just two more chapters to go and an epilogue that I will write before November 2nd. Happy Reading...I can't believe that this is one of my longest chapters which is still short compared to my other works._**

Chapter Eighteen

Mercedes had returned to Solon around nine o'clock on Tuesday after taking her mom home, and instead of rushing over to spend time with Sam and Maria, she had stayed home knowing that the Harts were there to spend time with the two of them and not necessarily her. She was surprised when Denise had called her and asked her to go out to eat lunch together with just the two of them. She had gotten dressed and picked Denise up and took her to a nice bistro that served soups, salads, sandwiches, teas, and other lunchtime eats. Mercedes asked about Maria, Sam, and John, and Denise explained how the trio planned to spend time horseback riding something that she had no interest in at all. After a bunch of small talk Denise hit Mercedes with questions regarding her relationship with Sam that allowed Mercedes to know the true reason behind their lunch meeting.

"So, when do you have enough time to date Sam if you are working at the school in the daytime and busy spending family time with Sam and Maria on weeknights and with your own mother on weekends coupled with church on Sunday?" Denise asked the question that had been burning in her soul after overhearing Maria talking about how she was glad Mercedes still spent time with her now before and after school and hearing how Mercedes spent Saturdays with her mother shopping, cleaning, and helping her with other household tasks.

Mercedes quickly explained to Denise that instead of dating, she was spending time with Sam and Maria doing family type things because she already knew Sam was the man for her, and he didn't need to take her out on expensive dates to wine, dine, or impress her. She was content hanging with him and Maria, and their relationship was not like most couples. They had both worked together and she even had the experience of living with him; even though, they didn't have much time for intimacy with one another in the past, she had learned a lot about Sam, and he about her. They were just taking time now to know each other romantically and not just as the roles of their previous employment relationship.

"Well, I still think you should make that young man court you in the style that he should be accustomed to before and after marriage. After 25 years of marriage, I can tell you this if a man doesn't do things before you marry him, he surely will be less likely to do them afterwards. Spending time with Maria is awesome, but you two need nights on the town, and you need to let him woo you some more. Part of the reason Sam has asked you to marry him more than once is that he sees you as suitable candidate for Maria's mother, but a marriage involves more than motherhood and the employer and employee relationship that you two have had in the past. I have talked to John, and he has agreed with me that every night we are here this week that Sam is to take you out on dates. We will enjoy spending time with Maria and are more than capable of putting her to bed. You two can take advantage of having free childcare as part of our early Christmas present to the both of you. John and I would have suggested that you all join us in Tennessee for Christmas, but we are not going to be there ourselves, we have decided to go on a cruise with some more couples from our church; a transatlantic cruise that Sam and Maria has given to us for a Christmas gift, and we won't be back until February 9th. It's a 45 day cruise, and I am excited about seeing parts of the world that I have only dreamed of ever seeing."

As in most cases, Mercedes had just learned to listen when it came to the Harts. Before she could respond about Sam taking her on dates, Denise was talking about her Christmas cruise, and this distracted Mercedes enough to ask the older woman about all the places on the cruise itinerary that they were going to explore and had she shopped for all the items they were going to need for the cruise. They talked about the cruise and suitable places to shop in Ohio and the talk of shopping led the two to another conversation which caused the Harts plan to babysit Maria, so Sam and Mercedes could spend time alone together on traditional dates to be temporarily forgotten until after they finished eating, and Denise suggested that they go shopping for an outfit for Mercedes to wear that evening for their first official date.

"Sam is taking you to New York on his private jet, and you are going to see a Broadway show. He told me that you had experience in musical theater after you revealed that information to him after the grand opening ceremony the other night. So, he already has premium tickets for _Motown the Musical _for 7:30 tonight. Your flight will leave at three, and you are going to stay in a five bedroom penthouse suite with park views at the Hilton with John, Maria, and me. While you two are at the Motown musical, John, Maria, and I are going to be at the _Aladdin_ musical which starts at seven. It's now twelve, and we need to get outfits for the three of us courtesy of Mr. Evans' black Amex card, so we don't have another minute to waste." Denise relished the opportunity to give Mercedes the news because if anybody deserved pampering and a night on the town it was the selfless Mercedes Jones.

Mercedes was flabbergasted. Barely a squeak came out of her mouth as she watched Denise pay for their lunches with the aforementioned black credit card and followed the lady who was a resembling her very own fairy godmother to the car as they headed out for the twenty minute drive to Cleveland to a couple of the higher end stores. Mercedes knowing that Sam liked her in red chose another red dress this time a long sleeved wraparound knee length tight on the top but flowing at the bottom girly dress and teamed it up with some red bottom gold stilettos while picking out Maria a much warmer green velvet dress with white tights. Denise chose an elegant black sheath with a beautiful gold cape to keep her warm. By the time the two ladies finished shopping it was after two, so they rushed back to Mercedes' apartment so she could pack an overnight case something that was now a habit for her, and they made it to Sam's home with only five minutes to spare. The flight to New York only lasted an hour, and after checking into the hotel, Sam treated the ladies to a prearranged spa appointment, so they could get their hair, nails, and make-up fixed at the hotel and be back in time to dress for their night on the town.

Mercedes hadn't had any private time with Sam to thank him for the fabulous date, but as soon as she saw him dressed in his dark suit and tie looking like a male model, words once again failed her. He was looking at her as if she was his early Christmas present wrapped in bow and that look in his eyes made the normally attractive man sinfully delicious looking.

"You look fabulous, I really don't feel like sharing you with a theater filled with people, but Denise will kill me if I try to back out of this date, so I guess the theater and then dinner are next on our agenda." The Harts and Maria had eaten from the room service menu an hour before leaving for their show and would be back in the hotel before he and Mercedes concluded their first official date.

"Thanks Sam you are looking quite handsome yourself. This day has been a whirlwind but totally worth it. I can't wait to see and sing along to tonight's show. My mom loves Motown music, and I grew up singing those songs." Mercedes confessed as they headed towards the cab that was waiting for them outside. Mercedes expectations of the evening were more than surpassed. She was delightfully amazed to discover that Sam knew many of the songs and she enjoyed listening to his melodic voice singing along to some of the songs as much as she was. When they went to dinner after the show, Mercedes was also pleasantly surprised to see that Sam had taken her to Sardi's one of the top restaurants in New York City. She had ordered and enjoyed the Supreme of Chicken Sardi's which was a casserole dish of chicken, cheese, potatoes, and asparagus while Sam enjoyed his steak served with a baked potato and salad. The two ordered separate desserts to share while Mercedes ordered the traditional cheesecake, Sam chose the warm apple tart with cinnamon ice cream.

After the heavy dinner the two were not ready to head to the hotel, so they decided to go to Times Square and walk around a little bit before taking a taxi to the hotel. Mercedes enjoyed walking around with Sam hugging her body close to him so they could share body heat. It wasn't long before it was midnight, and she began yawn which Sam accurately understood that she was getting tired walking around in her stiletto shoes, so he called for taxi to come and pick them up.

On the taxi ride, Sam couldn't wait any longer and had to kiss her. He was okay feeling her short and soft round and curvy body against him while they were walking, but as soon as he lost body contact with her he knew he wouldn't be able to keep himself from stealing a kiss. The kiss started out innocent but soon became heated and would have led to groping if the cab driver clearing his throat to let them know they had arrived at their destination hadn't interrupted them. Sam had been so involved with the kiss that he didn't even noticed that the car had stopped moving. After paying and tipping the driver, Sam opened Mercedes' door and guided her into the hotel once again content to have her in his arms if not having his lips pressed against hers. Their combined taste of their desserts and their drinks had made the kiss even more pleasurable, and Sam didn't know if he could eat anything with cinnamon again and not be reminded of the way Mercedes tasted.

When they arrived in the suite, Sam took care to kiss Mercedes gently and quietly goodnight so that he did not wake up the others who were no doubt asleep, and he didn't want to get caught by any of the trio kissing Mercedes; he couldn't imagine just what Maria would say and when she would say it. He kissed her hand and thanked her for their delightful ending and went to his room humming "My Girl".

After checking out of the hotel which they did after eating a big breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, the Evans, Harts, and Mercedes headed back to Ohio. Maria was the biggest chatterbox ever talking about _Aladdin_ and even convincing Sam and Mercedes to sing "A Whole New World". Denise who had never heard Mercedes sing before convinced her and Sam to sing some of the songs from the Motown musical, and the trip back to Ohio went much faster than it seemed go to New York had. Mercedes said her goodbyes and headed to her apartment to get some rest before that night's date with Sam which was John's choice and not Denise's, so Mercedes was not sure at what it would entail.

Sam was just as excited about tonight's date as he was yesterday's date. John and Denise said it was important that they do things that the both of them liked and since Sam knew that Mercedes loved basketball (her favorite team was the Lakers which made all the Cavalier fans in her church avoid her during basketball season), he was excited to see that they were playing his favorite team the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis that night. He had told Mercedes to dress casually, and he had arranged for his pilot to take them on the hour and half flight to Memphis at five, so they could eat dinner and go to the game which started at eight. Sam took Mercedes to his favorite barbecue restaurant prior to the game, and he had her try the ribs even though she was fine with her pulled pork sandwich, coleslaw, and fries. Sam had ordered ribs, chicken, Texas toast, coleslaw and fries because something that he couldn't get in Ohio was good Memphis barbecue.

Sam enjoyed watching Mercedes watch the game as much as he enjoyed watching the game himself. She was all into the plays and the calls even calling the referees blind when the calls they made were unpopular with her and some of the Lakers' fans. Sam did hold her hand as much as possible and during half-time they went to go stretch their feet and take a restroom break before coming back to watch the Lakers defeat the Grizzlies. Mercedes tried not to grin too big when her team won by barely two points. It was a close game, but the Lakers rallied at the end to defeat the Grizzlies, and Sam restrained himself from cursing. It was a good game, and he had a good time, so he wasn't going to dwell on the loss as the two headed hand and hand to Sam's car that he used when he was in Memphis and drove it to the hangar that housed his jet. It was almost midnight when they made it back to Solon with Sam driving Mercedes home.

Mercedes so wanted to invite him in for coffee, but she was too smart to set herself up in that way. Instead she allowed Sam to walk her to her door and gave him a toe curling kiss to thank him again for another awesome date. She told him how she enjoyed their evening and couldn't wait to see what their next date would be because a Lakers game and a Broadway show would be hard to surpass she teased as she gently kissed him again before shoving him away from her door when he tried to deepen the second kiss telling him it was late, and they had another big date planned for tomorrow, and most importantly she needed her beauty rest.

Sam knew she didn't need any beauty rest and told her this as he reluctantly headed to his car. Tomorrow would be a day or relaxation for the both of them. He had made specific arrangements with Spa West for an all day exclusive Royal Couple package that was not even advertised because of the costs for the limousine pick up and drop off, Sauna rose petal plunge bath therapy, champagne spa lunch, manicure and pedicure, sixty minute couples relaxation massage, eye lift, and ESPA intensive facial. It was an eight hour date that would be centered on being catered to and making sure that they were relaxed and well groomed as well.

When Sam called Mercedes at nine to wake her up for their date, Mercedes assumed more travel was involved. When she asked what she needed to wear to prepare, Sam teased her by telling her as little as possible which was ridiculous for Ohio in the winter; when she told him this, he then told her seriously to pack her most revealing swimwear. Mercedes knew that he wasn't taking her to Hawaii or the Caribbean, but she couldn't guess at his odd requests on where the date was going to be. She was shocked out of her mind when her doorbell chimed an hour later, and she saw Sam waiting outside by a limo to take her on a date that she felt under-dressed for in her favorite jeans, a sweater, boots, and her leather jacket. Seeing Sam dressed in sweats and sneakers made her feel better about her appearance, and she tried to tease him about revealing their details of their date as they headed towards Cleveland. When the driver took an unexpected turn, Mercedes was clueless on where they were headed until they arrived in their location forty minutes later.

Sam had already treated her to a spa session, but this spa date was one in which she would never forget. She had never felt so limber, good, and tempted in all her life. During their individual couple's baths in which they made history in being in swimsuits and in separate tubs in the same bathing area at a European spa where clothing is optional, Mercedes had a hard time keeping her eyes and mind off of Sam. During the sauna earlier, Sam had started by holding her hand and then he had began kissing her which led to them making out to the point that Sam had actually began to untie of her Tankini top. She really couldn't blame Sam for his actions because she had been guilty of licking the sweat off his chest and nibbling on his nipples something that she hadn't done before, and Sam was so caught up in what she was doing to his body that he had immediately began to lavish attention on her before her hands or her mouth could touch any more of his body because he was in danger of turning them over and grinding into her body to relieve the achiness that had settled into his nether regions. She knew this because he confessed this to her later.

Then, Sam had begun by lifting her chin and gently kissing her eyelids, her nose, and the corners of her mouth avoiding her lips as he traced them with his fingertips and then began kissing her neck. While he was kissing her neck, he couldn't seem to stop his finger from going towards the ties of her Tankini top that were around her neck. He was just about in he process of tugging them down when he felt Mercedes' body stiffened, and he knew that they were both comprising their beliefs and the rules of their courtship, so he kissed her lips tenderly as in apology and moved to the other side of the sauna so he could 'cool off' in a hot sauna with his eyes closed because looking at Mercedes in her bathing suit with arousal in her eyes was definitely not the incentive he needed for self control. Thankfully their time in the sauna was followed by the therapeutic baths and Sam decided not to smell of roses and took his bath separately from Mercedes given him the opportunity to cool down his desires.

The rest of the spa day was filled with an hour couples relaxation massage that the both of them needed and again the two wore swimsuits in which they had their eyes closed and could have been naked because they both feel asleep during the massages and were awaken for their champagne spa lunch. After enjoying the light meal the two continued to their eye lifts, facials, manicures, and pedicures leaving the spa at six to return again by limousine to Sam's home where she was having dinner with the Harts, Sam, and Maria and watching _It's a Wonderful Life _before Sam was to take her home for an early night in at ten.

It was Friday night before Mercedes and Sam saw each other again. After the day of intimacy and crossing their boundaries, the two agreed that they were going to be busy fighting temptation if they spent too much alone time together, so Sam agreed to allow Mercedes to choose their date, and she chose to fix dinner for Sam at her house, so they could talk and redefine the parameters on what they felt comfortable with doing regarding intimacy before marriage.

After the lasagna dinner which was second to Mercedes' macaroni and cheese as Sam's favorite dish prepared for by Mercedes, the two cleaned up the kitchen, and then went into Mercedes' living room to talk.

"Sam I love you so very much, but I am afraid we are going to go too far if we continue making out like we have done in the past. I am all for people who want long engagements, but I don't think we should keep putting off our marriage which we only did because of my initial fear that you would want to get married before we even had premarital counseling by running off to elope in Vegas as soon as possible. I am guilty of us delaying our engagement and marriage because I didn't want us to rush into marriage right when we agreed to be together, so I take responsibility for that and don't regret my decision."

"I won't lie and tell you that I was not tempted to ask you to run off and elope, so we could just be married. It has been two years since I asked to marry me the first time when Maria ran away in tears that night, so I don't think that we need a long engagement any way. You were waiting on me all this time, so I could be the man that you needed as a husband while I foolishly believed that I was waiting on you to change your mind and give me a chance. I love you Mercedes Jones have loved you since you opened my eyes to the jerk I was being and helped me to be a better uncle and now I am a better man because of you, but I have been in love with you since the first time I saw you it was as if what they say about love at first sight was true. However because I had never been in love, I didn't know it was love but thought it was lust that I was feeling. I know myself and I am not strong enough to resist the allure that you have be it pheromones, hormones, or just plain sexual attraction whatever I feel for you overwhelms me at times that is why I was more than satisfied with our family dates we were having. I didn't have the time or the opportunity to be tempted to demand more from you."

"Sam the Harts are going on 45 day cruise next week, and you know they will want to be at our wedding. I have really come to respect and love the both of them, so it's not like we are getting married any time soon. So, we are just going to have limit our dates and time alone because I never thought I would have this problem but keeping myself from jumping you right now with you sitting on my couch while we are having this discussion lets me know that I am not spiritual enough to resist you and if I do resist you I will probably allow you to do more than you should, and it would be painful for you and embarrassing for me afterwards."

"We could always get married Saturday." Sam said looking at her and seeing the expression on her face knew to shut his mouth and began counting the days until the Harts returned. "How about a Valentine's Day wedding," Sam suggested to give Mercedes time to cool off before she ripped him a new one.

"Sam, I don't know what I am going to do with you. A Valentine's wedding seems so romantic and unlike us both, but I guess you could never forget our anniversary since it's on Valentine's Day. I would still demand two gifts on that day you know one for being your sweetheart and one for our anniversary." Mercedes told him slowly coming around to the idea of getting married on February 14th. She checked her calendar on her cell phone and was pleasantly surprised to see that it would be a Saturday, and if they had the wedding in the morning, so people would still have time to celebrate the holiday with their loved ones, and that Monday would be President's Day so she would be off of work and could take the rest of the week off for their honeymoon without feeling too guilty. She hadn't missed a day yet so she couldn't see that she would have a problem asking for a day extra when she was only allotted three personal days. She was sure her principal would understand she was just a teacher assistant and not a teacher so they wouldn't need a substitute.

"Fifty-three days until you will become my wife; I guess I will try to pray for and utilize self-control; the good thing is that it's winter, and I won't being seeing you in a bathing suit again until you are my wife, so that should help, if you decide to not wear make-up, and wear those ugly sweats you used to wear when you first came to work for me, I would appreciate that as well and stop smelling so good. The lasagna is pretty delicious, but it still can't cover you aroma." Sam said grinning at her to let her know he was kidding.

"I will stop doing all that if you gain one hundred pounds of belly weight, grow a beard, and get those fake orange tans. So, as soon as you meet my requirements I will meet yours and possibly not marry you in return." Mercedes kidded with him back.

"Lady, you are marrying me and I can't wait for us to become official on Christmas. I love my niece but I have a ring that has been itching to be placed on your finger for a while." Sam said as he braved temptation and moved to her side of the couch and put his arm around his woman.

"I am sure that the ring is lovely and since I have already told you yes, I like to think that we are unofficially engaged since you already gotten permission from my mom and I do believe I won the Harts over with my singing voice. Who knew that hearing me singing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" would cause them to become enraptured by my voice?"

"Woman, I know you have decided to go back to school to become a music teacher, but I think you could sing for a living, but I could be biased because your lips could have put my ears under a spell. Why don't you give me a kiss? So, I can see if it's your voice or those lips that drive me wild." Sam didn't give her time to kiss him; he kissed Mercedes like it was going to be there last kiss reluctantly letting her go as he dragged her up off of the couch and walk towards her closet to get his coat and earmuffs.

"I always knew you were the love them and leave them type Mr. Evans." Mercedes admonished him while waiting for him to put on his coat. As soon as he finished, she got on her tippy toes and gave him a gentle goodnight kiss telling him that she loved him when he opened the door and headed to his automobile. 'Fifty-odd days of going through this; I must be out of mind.' Mercedes said to herself as she headed to her bathroom to take her shower to get ready for bed.

Tomorrow was Saturday and she was spending a girls' day with her mom, Denise, and Maria and that night would be her and Sam's final solo date night which had to end early because of church service the next morning, and that both saddened and cheered Mercedes up. She was sad because she enjoyed her time with Sam, but she was also glad because she no longer would be placing herself in a position to sacrifice her morals and integrity. She couldn't tell the teenagers at her church one thing and then do the opposite. She realized her holier than thou attitude of the past was because she had never been truly tempted before now she understood the Bible verse that it was better to marry than to burn with lust because she was a living example on the cost of the burn.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Yes, I am updating on a Wednesday. I am trying to get this story finished by Saturday as I promised. This chapter had to be rewritten and edited more than the previous chapter or it would have been uploaded earlier than today. The theme of this chapter has more religion that the last chapter and as always contains copyrighted material and characters from Glee that I did not create. Please read, enjoy, review, and if you are new to the story and love it, favorite or follow it. I am known to do epilogues that serve as continuing chapters when I finish a story. The rated T version of this epilogue will be uploaded Saturday with the final chapter so if you are reading this abbie_carr know that I have been working on it. I will upload a rated M version on my Tumblr page when I finish this story. Thanks again for reading this super long chapter almost 7000 words double the size of some prior chapters.**

Chapter Nineteen

While the girls were spending Saturday together, John helped Sam do everything he needed to do to prepare for that night's date with Mercedes. Sam had enjoyed his last date with her with its simplicity of sharing a meal and sharing their hearts, so he thought it was only fair for him to cook for Mercedes this time. The main problem was that Sam didn't cook food that couldn't be put on a grill. The first thing on Sam's to do list was to find out what was one of Mercedes' favorite meals that she didn't get to eat all the time. He had asked Pearl for this information, and when the sweet lady told him it was a gumbo that her grandmother from New Orleans used to fix for them every year for Christmas before she passed away, Sam knew that that was the meal he would like to prepare for her. The problem was that Pearl didn't know the recipe and couldn't recreate it to save her life.

Sam not giving up decided to research all the major chefs in the United States who had experience cooking gumbo. When he saw that Emeril Lagasse had a popular chicken and sausage gumbo dish that he served with rice, Sam used all his business connections to get in contact with the popular chef. Because of the short notice Emeril was unable to come and prepare the meal for Mercedes, but he had a Skype section with Sam that afternoon to guide him through the process of cooking the meal. John was on hand to make sure Sam was following the directions and was the official taster to make sure Sam didn't prepare a meal that would make Mercedes sick. After four hours the meal was complete, and Emeril even agreed to do a surprise FaceTime call with Mercedes to prove to her that Sam actually cooked the meal himself.

As the time grew closer to their date night, Sam reviewed his to do list to make sure everything would go as planned. He had rented out the Harvest Kitchen & Lounge restaurant that was located in Solon for the night, and he had the staff set up a table with candles and had the lounge area fitted with a local band to play music for the couple to dance to after the dinner was over. Sam had requested several songs for the band to play that he knew that Mercedes enjoyed the most at _Motown the Musical _because she had danced in her chair, tapped her feet, and sang along harder to some songs way more than she did to others_. _

Sam left the restaurant with the gumbo simmering on low with John there to make sure the restaurant didn't burn down to pick up Mercedes for their date. He could barely keep his eyes off her during the entire drive from her apartment to the restaurant. She had called him earlier and asked what should she wear, and he had told her to dress for dinner and dancing and was pleased to see her in a black sweater dress with thigh high low heeled boots. Sam was glad that the distance from her apartment to the restaurant was minimal because seated the sweater dress had ridden up high on her legs leaving Sam with a tantalizing view of her thick and juicy thighs that made him want to sink his teeth in them. When he escorted her from the car to the restaurant to the table, he provided her with his iPhone which he told her to answer if he got any calls as she looked around and noticed that the entire restaurant was empty and Sam had disappeared.

Mercedes couldn't believe that Sam had rented out an entire restaurant for her. She also didn't understand him giving her his phone until she heard the phone notifying her of a call and a request for video which she did seeing that it was none other than Emeril Lagasse on the phone; she was about to get up and go get Sam when she heard him greet her by name.

"Hello, Mercedes, I must tell you that you are one lucky woman. Nothing would have given me more joy than to meet you face to face, but your boyfriend only contacted me today about preparing a special dinner for you, and I couldn't come all the way to Ohio on such short notice, so I tried to do the next best thing. I have given him a cooking lesson, and he has prepared tonight's dinner for you by himself. I hope you enjoy the meal, and I can't wait until he brings you to my restaurant, so I can prepare the meal myself for you, and you can tell him that my dish is still much better than his."

Mercedes could barely respond. Emeril was talking about her coming to his restaurant and asking her to compare the meal that he had guided Sam into preparing with one of his own. She was completely in awe, and could barely say "thanks, and I will" before disconnecting the call. Before she could get up and follow Sam into the kitchen, he came back out changed from his jeans and sweatshirt that he had on earlier to some black slacks with a long sleeved green shirt that matched the color of his eyes to perfection. He made his way towards the table and sat down facing her and was soon followed by John Hart with a cart with two covered dishes on top. John placed a dish in front of Mercedes and a dish in front of Sam bid them bon appétit and quickly left the two.

"Sam what have you done?" Mercedes finally able to phrase a coherent thought and question asked him when she smelled the wonderful spicy aroma of gumbo one of her favorite meals.

"I enjoyed taking you to New York to the theater, to Memphis to the basketball game, and to the spa, but the date that I enjoyed the most was our date last night with your cooking and the conversation we had between the two of us. I realized that you were the kind of woman who made even the simplest date as romantic as a flight to Paris and a walk to the Eiffel Tower. This realization made me realized that I wanted to have a similar night with you with your favorite food and with me cooking it, so I was able to pull some last minute strings to give you a simple date that I hope you will enjoy."

"Oh, Sam never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that you would have went all out and did all of this for me. How could I keep myself from continuing to fall more and more in love with you when you show me how much you care for me in such a spectacular way? I can't wait to try your gumbo, and then when we do eventually go to Emeril's restaurant, let him know that his gumbo only comes a close second to my husband's." Mercedes gushed as she abruptly stopped talking to try the gumbo that lacked the seafood of her grandmother's but was still as delicious. After dinner in which Mercedes told Sam how she spent the day with the girls and Sam told Mercedes about how interesting his cooking lesson with Emeril was, Mercedes was surprised when John came to wheel the cart with their dishes and uneaten food away and blow out the candles as the lights on the stage area inside the lounge of the restaurant were now on and revealed what had been hidden by the candlelit atmosphere of their table.

The band began to play "My Girl" and Sam shocked Mercedes by grabbing the microphone that John had left behind and began to serenade her while drawing her to her feet and dancing with her as he sung the song to her. After Sam finished singing the song, the band took over and started playing vintage Motown music, and Mercedes and Sam danced the night away. At about 8:00 pm, the two danced the final dance of the night to "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" which they song to each other. While the band packed up, the two headed to the kitchen to eat the dessert that Sam hadn't even attempted to prepare; it was her mother's peach cobbler and homemade ice cream that Sam had picked up from Lima before Mercedes had arrived to pick up her mom for their girls' day. Mercedes knew by taste and smell that this was all her mom's cooking, and she knew her mother had had to get up early that morning to prepare the dessert which caused tears to well up her in her eyes.

"I know the dessert is good, but is it good enough to make you cry?" Sam asked as he looked at her shocked by her reaction to the dessert.

"No, it is just you and my mom and John and even Denise have put so much effort into making every date we have had this week so special that I just couldn't keep all my emotions in. I really appreciate everything you have done tonight to make this date a success. Sam it has truly been one of the best nights of my life, and my mom making my dad's favorite dessert which I used to love to share with him when I was a little girl was just the icing on the cake."

"Well, you deserve even better dates than I can imagine taking you on. I don't think you truly understand how much others including me love you. You give all the time, and according to Denise who has only known you for this short amount of time, you hardly ever have anybody do anything for you. From now on as your future husband, I must warn you that you must prepare to be doted on and treasured and romanced and catered to every once in awhile simply because you deserve it."

Mercedes couldn't stop herself from leaning towards Sam and giving him a kiss. "Oh, as long as it is only every once in awhile, then I will try to be able to bear it." She teased him as she went in for another kiss. The cinnamon from the cobbler reminded her of the kiss they shared in New York, and it was as if she couldn't stop herself from kissing Sam and relishing in taste of his mouth as he plundered her own.

Sam knowing that he if didn't stop her that they might get caught making out in the kitchen by the restaurant's staff, who were due to come in and clean at ten, so he gave her a final peck before encouraging her to finish their desserts before the restaurant's employees arrived to close the place down for the night.

* * *

Mercedes was glad that their date ended before ten the previous night because she had to be up bright and early for church that Sunday morning. She rode with the Sam and Maria to church as always but this time they had to take John and Denise to the airport so they could fly back to Tennessee. After tearful hugs and promise to call, text, and email while the Harts were on the cruise, they eventually told the lovely couple goodbye and headed to church. Maria was excited because they were having dress rehearsals for the Christmas pageant and she would get to try on her costume and bring it home for the play that Wednesday. The play was on Christmas Eve during their normal Wednesday service time and would allow the members of the congregation to spend time with their families.

This Sunday Mercedes was to sing Christmas songs with the choir, and she even got to sing "O, Holy Night" as a solo because the adults were having their Christmas sermon that day. Sam couldn't keep himself from videoing Mercedes when she sang her solo during the church service no matter how it made him look. He had promised John, Denise, Pearl, and even Emeril that he would upload the video, so they could see it. The Harts and Pearl knew that Mercedes was a gifted singer; however, Emeril didn't believe him when he told the chef that Mercedes could make a grown man cry with her voice. Mercedes didn't know he was filming her she was so caught up in the song that her voice caused a silence to take hold of the congregation as she belted out the last chords of the song sung in a voice that couldn't be described as anything but angelic. Sam forgot he was recording he was so moved by the song, and he only stopped filming when their pastor got up to release the choir to their seats and began the service entitled _The Greatest Truth_ which tackled the believers to believe that Christ birth was no story that mainstream society tried to portray but actual truth for believers.

When the service was over, Sam and Mercedes were bombarded by an overly excited Maria who had to show them her Christmas pageant costume. After fawning over the little girl, they encouraged her to change back into her outfit because the thin material of her costume wouldn't keep her warm in the thirty-eight degrees forecasted as the high today. Sam and Mercedes had both not spent much time with the little girl since the arrival of the Harts, so they dedicated Sunday afternoon to spend time doing what Maria loved doing which was playing in the snow, drinking hot cocoa, and eating pizza while watching her favorite Christmas movies. It was six o'clock before Mercedes gathered the courage to tell the little girl she was leaving, which prompted Maria to ask if she would be there the following day to help her with her lines and sing the songs with her for the pageant on both Monday and Tuesday. Mercedes couldn't refuse so she promised to spend the next two days prepping Maria.

Wednesday finally arrived, and Sam and Mercedes used Maria's rehearsal time that afternoon to set up all her gifts underneath the Christmas tree. Sam also spent Christmas Eve going over his formal proposal for Mercedes. He was excited that Pearl had agreed to spend Christmas as his house. Her former foster children always tried to spend Christmas with their own families because the kids did not like being separated from their toys, so Mercedes had spent Tuesday night in Lima with her mom and had brought her back to Solon that morning, so she could be there tonight for Maria's play and get started on the Christmas baking that night which Sam couldn't wait to be the unofficial taste tester of. When they returned from church and dinner at Maria's favorite restaurant, the little girl was exhausted and Sam put her to bed while Mercedes and her mom began to cook the cakes, pies, and cookies that would serve as the desserts for tomorrow's meal and snacks for the remainder of the holidays.

Mercedes was somewhat surprised when Sam knocked on her door and woke her up early Christmas morning (earlier than the six am time that her mother would have demanded to make sure that the ham, lamb, and turducken were put on in time) and requested her presence in the library. They all had a late night because it was midnight when they were finally able to go to bed after Pearl was satisfied with all the baking. She washed her face and brushed her teeth knowing that even if they were about to be married, Sam hadn't earn the right to experience her morning breath and the sight of her eyes crusted with sleep. She kept on her hooded and footed pajamas knowing that her and Maria's matching blue, gray, and white snowflake onesies, an early Christmas gift from the Harts to them both, were not inappropriate attire.

They had always handled business in the library, and some memories of the room were not good ones. Mercedes thought as she followed Sam up the stairs heading towards the room. When Sam sat her down in her favorite spot in the entire house facing the outside trees and lake and dropped down on bended knee, Mercedes felt like she knew he was going to officially propose to her.

Sam got down on a bended knee and recited a poem he had written just for her:

"Before I knew you my life was dismal, cold, and gray

Then you came along like a burst of a sun's ray

Filling my life and home with hope as you prayed

That one day my life would be saved

Now I can't think of anyone else in this world

Whom I would rather be with as I grow old

And I promise that I will treat you right

In my arms I will hold onto you tight

Pledging my love to you forever

Know that I will leave you never

Will you marry me Mercedes Jones

And become Mrs. Mercedes Evans?"

He then opened up the box displaying a 3.10 carat diamond solitaire surrounded by alternating diamonds and amethyst as accent stones on a platinum engagement ring. She couldn't trust herself to speak because her emotions were going awry. So, she just nodded her head as tears fell down her face, and he placed the ring on her finger.

When she finally recovered, Mercedes told Sam that she had never felt more privileged and honored to become his wife. She didn't think she could contain all the emotions she felt. There was love, joy, excitement, and a little sobriety considering the seriousness of marriage. Sam told her he felt the same. He was just blessed that God had allowed them to be together, and he pledged to love her as Christ loved the church. After they kissed for what felt like seconds but was actually minutes, Mercedes reminded him that it was time to get Maria up, so she could open her presents. Maria wanted to stay up last night to open one gift, but after the pageant the little girl was exhausted, so Mercedes promised to wake her up early that morning before she and Pearl began cooking their Christmas feast, so the little girl could open one present before helping the ladies to prepare their Christmas meal. Pearl was already up at five thirty, and Mercedes asked if she would join her and the Evans in the great room near the Christmas tree in the fifteen minutes it would take to wake Maria, get her to wash her face and brush her teeth, so she could open the one present that she was unable to open last night.

Instead of receiving a box from underneath the tree, Sam sat down beside the little girl and began to speak her before she could even ask for her first box, "Maria, there is something I want to ask you, but before I do, I need to tell you something. As you probably have guessed I am in love with Mercedes. I want her to be my wife and your mother. I have never officially adopted you as my child because I had sole custody. But I love you as a daughter and would be overjoyed to have you not only as my niece but also as my daughter. When you get older and Mercedes and I have other children, I don't want you to think that we are going to love you any less. We love you so much and want you to be legally our daughter." Sam paused and took a breath to see how Maria was processing the news. "I don't want you to ever forget your parents or try to replace them with us. It is important to us before the three of us take this next step to have your agreement. We are a family, and I want to ask you if you mind if I married Mercedes knowing that she will be more than your future aunt? I would be your father and she would be your future mother."

"Yes, Uncle Sam. I would love to call you Daddy and Mercedes Mommy. I have been waiting a long time for you two to get married. God has finally answered my prayers, and you have made me the happiest girl in the world today by giving me the only gift that I wanted the most for Christmas." Before Maria could say anything more, Sam had scooped her up into his arms and was hugging her tightly telling her how much he loved her. Pearl and Mercedes both were teary eyed as they listened to Sam explain how Mercedes wasn't just going to become his wife, but that she was to become Maria's mother, and he was going to be her father. It wasn't even time for Christmas dinner yet just that morning's first gift exchange, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house as the little family that was thrown together by unpleasant circumstances were about to become a real family based on love.

The next morning, Mercedes woke up feeling exhilarated after only getting a few hours of sleep. After Christmas dinner and more gift exchanges, the Evans-Jones clan had took naps and then were unable to go to sleep after eating again and staying up watching a Christmas movie marathon. She was so caught up with the holiday that she hadn't even reflected on her engagement until Sam kissed her goodnight, and she could barely sleep without thinking about Sam. She had become one of those girls who were so in love that Sam was literally all she could think about when she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. This was so unlike the old her. She couldn't really believe that she was getting married. It was as if the past month was a dream, and she was going to wake up any minute and be back in Lima at home with her mom because it was just too good to be true.

* * *

Upon waking up, Mercedes realized that this was not a dream but her reality and came to the conclusion that really the best things in life were worth waiting for. She could have compromised her beliefs and settled for a Sam who was not ready to be the husband she needed and had been miserable. She was so glad that she didn't and that she was willing to patiently wait on God to work on both of their hearts and prepare them both for each other. Sam wasn't perfect, and she was far from perfection herself, but he was the perfect complement to her. She didn't need him to feel complete, but he accentuated her strengths and covered her weaknesses. She didn't care about finances and being rich or starting nonprofits or reaching for the moon. Sam was gifted in those areas whereas he was not a homemaker, people person, or patient. They both had areas that needed working and would not allow each other to just settle but would encourage each other to be the best person that they could be.

The knowledge and the maturity that came with age allowed Mercedes to know that being in love with a person was not enough for a successful relationship. Mercedes knew that you had to be willing to live with and love a person as they were now and not marry them hoping to change a person. Sam knew her. He knew the good, the bad, and hopefully the ugly. She had made him mad plenty of times, yet he never gave up on her. Maybe that is what it was all about. Mercedes got out of the bed, and decided to spend time in the presence of the Lord before she went about her daily weekend activities. She loved waking up on a weekend morning having nothing set in stone that she had to do. She would spend as much time with her family and her fiancé that she could, but she loved putting God first in her agenda and having her own personal quiet reflection time.

Later that day after taking her mom home with leftovers so she wouldn't have to cook until Sunday, Mercedes went ahead and did her Saturday errands for her mother so she could spend the last weekend she had off of work planning her wedding with Sam and Maria. There was not enough time, and Sam was already eager to send out invitations even though a place, time, and other details hadn't been finalized.

While at the grocery store, she ran into an old classmate, who was in town for the holidays. The young woman was no different than she was as a young girl - a gossip who would talk about anything to anyone at anytime. Mercedes had to politely listen to her yammering on and on about their pre-meetings for their ten year class reunion which would begin next year. On Tuesday, Mercedes' mom had already told her about the letter that she had received concerning the reunion, and Mercedes had been ignoring the emails concerning the reunion because high school hadn't been the best experience of her life, and she hadn't been looking forward to reuniting with her former classmates who she hadn't had any contact with since graduating.

When Tina stopped talking for a moment to catch her breath, she saw the ring on Mercedes' finger and was shocked. "Are you engaged to be married?" She asked in a strangled voice. Mercedes was never in a serious relationship in high school unlike all the other people in their school chorus, and she had been given the nickname 'Old Maid Jones' by some of the more popular members of their clique. In fact, the pre-committee for the high school reunion had recommended throwing the majority of the responsibility for the class reunion to Mercedes who was rumored to be living at home with her mom while the majority of their more prominent and responsible classmates (i.e. the class officers which Mercedes was not one of) had left Lima and were in no rush to return. Tina's husband Mike had been their class vice-president, and she attended the pre-meetings with him, and that's why she knew about reunion details even though she hadn't been a class officer herself.

"Yes, I just got engaged…last night to be exact." Mercedes told her trying to hide her smile. She knew that many people had never thought she would get married and have kids. She was twenty-seven years old and hadn't even had a serious boyfriend yet. Mercedes also thought many wondered if she was a lesbian. However, she never lived her life based on others' opinions only God's.

"Who is the lucky man? I didn't even know you were dating anyone around here." Tina said wanting to know the scoop.

"It's nobody from Lima. He was my boss. His name is Sam Evans. The owner of his business, SEI, now based here in Cincinnati and founder of the MRH Homes in Memphis and Columbus. Have you ever heard of him?" Mercedes asked trying not to gloat but was proud that her husband was a successful person.

"You have got to be kidding. Wow! I had heard you were working for him as a nanny, but I didn't really believe it, not with all of your qualifications and skills. I was thinking that you were living with your mother until she fully recovered, so you could move back to the city as soon as she was a hundred percent. Now, I know you were just living with him and using that as an excuse." Tina smiled unaware that she telling Mercedes the gossip that she was soon to be spreading about her.

"Now, Tina, you know that I have never and never will live with a man; unless, we were married. When I was working for him as a nanny, my mother and I both stayed with him. I needed a job that I could take care of my mother with and that paid enough money. We fell in love while I was working with him, and I quit before we even started going out with each other." Mercedes tried to explain without losing her cool knowing that all of Lima and her former classmates would hear Tina's fallacious version instead of the truth if she didn't correct the woman ASAP.

"Oh, when did you start dating each other?" Tina asked appearing to have no other place to go but stand here and chat with her in Wal-Mart.

"We started to date officially the beginning of December right after Thanksgiving to be exact. Since we have known each other for over a year, we want to go ahead and get married in February." Mercedes said realizing with her own ears what people were going to think and say about that. They were going to believe that she was pregnant.

"Well, that won't give you much time to plan a society wedding that I am sure people in Sam Evans' world are accustomed to. I heard he was almost a billionaire." Tina opined.

"You know how men are always in such a hurry to get married. They don't care about the wedding and getting the perfect gown. Speaking of wedding gowns, I have a lot to do in and a little time, so please forgive me as I rush to finish up my shopping, I plan on staying the night here in Lima, but I need to return to my apartment to begin planning my wedding." Mercedes said adding the bit about her apartment so Tina wouldn't spread the rumor that she was shacking up with Sam.

Mercedes was not surprised to hear from Sam as soon as she got back to her mother's house and was busy putting up the groceries and other items that she had replenished for her mom. "Hi, honey. How has your day been?" Mercedes asked putting him on speakerphone while she finished her tasks.

"It's been fine. I have been missing you, though. Maria has been asking me when you were going to come over today. I told her that you were staying the night with your mother, but that you would see us tomorrow. She also wanted to know if you were going to spend the night with us again." Sam said.

"Well, I am glad you brought that up. I went to the store to buy some items for mother, and I ran into an old friend from high school. I told her about our prospective wedding date. She gave me a look that said: 'Why are you rushing the date? Are you pregnant?' Then, I realized that I was living with you for over a year, and people are going to add one and one and come up with five. I just don't want that kind of talk spoken over us. So, I think we should postpone the wedding until mid summer."

"Postpone the wedding. Postpone the wedding. I am dreaming. Aren't I? You couldn't possibly be saying that. I must be hearing things. It doesn't really matter what people might say. After nine months and no baby, I am sure they will change their minds and regret saying something so untrue. I think that we should do the opposite just to smite our accusers. Instead of postponing the date, we need to push up the wedding date. I can't wait to get married. Don't you feel the same way, too?" Sam questioned her not believing what he was hearing.

"Sam, you know that there is nothing else in the world that I would rather do than marry you tonight if I could. However, I do think that we are rushing things. I promise you that the wait will only make the special day even more special. We will have more time to get to know each other and see about getting the MRH Home firmly established." Mercedes explained trying to win him over to her frame of thinking by using his pet project.

Sam knew her strategy and called her on it. "That is not going to work. I have wanted to marry you for a long time. I have been counting the days until I can tell the world you are mine. And now, you want me to wait."

"Okay, Sam I will try to ignore the looks and the gossip and try to rise above the haters. She did have a valid point that your wedding is expected to be some big society thing maybe the social event of the year due to your financial status and the people you know. How in the world are we going to put together a wedding that won't embarrass you in this short amount of time, Sam?"

"I am going to do what you normally do to me and quote the Bible, Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. If we can establish MRH Homes in the amount of time that we have had, then I am sure a wedding would not be a problem if you go ahead and quit your job, you will have all the time to plan the wedding, and I will hire ten wedding planners if I have to make sure you have the wedding of your dreams. I don't want the media involved, and I sure don't want a societal event. I will invite some colleagues, past business associates, and current employees, but I am not inviting people I don't know to put on a show. I am only inviting people who I care about and who care about me because that it was a wedding party should consist of people who come to give well wishes to the bride and groom not people who come to be seen and get free drinks and food."

"Sam, you have been spending too much time with the Harts. Okay, rewind what is this about me quitting my job? I couldn't do that this late in the school year because they would have a hard time replacing me. I have already told you how I was taking time from work to go on our honeymoon. I don't plan to be seen as some type of gold digger who now has a rich fiancé and decides she is too good to work. I thought I would keep my position as a volunteer until I finish the requirements for my degree in music education, so I can be eligible to teach with experience in two years."

"In two years, I see you pregnant with Sam Jr. Besides, I have news that I was saving to share with you when I saw you face to face, but I got a phone call from Emeril who told me that he had shared the video that I have sent to him of you singing "O Holy Night" with some of his customers in one of his Las Vegas restaurants and L.A. Reid was there, and he is interested in having you fly out to California to do a demo so that Sony could sign you under Epic Records if all the executives agree."

"You sent a video of me singing in church to Emeril who showed the video to L.A. Reid. Sam, what were you thinking? You know I have no desire to be a recording artist at all, that I want a quiet lifestyle of teaching not being in L.A. or wherever trying to be an artist. I have no desire to be the next Adele even though I admire her talent, I am content with becoming your wife, Maria's mom, and an educator."

"Honey, you have a God given talent, and it would be selfish of you to keep that voice that gives people goosebumps off of just a video of hearing you sing and has studio heads wanting to fly you out to L.A. to possibly sign you with one of the biggest recording companies in the world. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and who knows maybe Sony will think you are more suited as a gospel music artist and won't want to sign you. Or you may record an album that is never released or it doesn't sell well, but the opportunity is something that you shouldn't throw away just because you didn't seek it, doesn't mean it isn't God blessing you with something that as a little girl singing in your hairbrush-yes, I imagine who singing in the mirror with a hairbrush as a microphone-always dreamed of happening."

"I also dreamed of being an astronaut, a brain surgeon, and the president of the United States that doesn't mean that I was meant to pursue those fields."

"But, you were given this huge talent to sing not to orbit the moon, cut up people, or go gray before you turn forty. Just promise you will pray about it before throwing the idea out of the window. You have until after the holidays to notify Mr. Reid, so it's not like you have to decide anything right now."

"I already can see what marriage to you is going to be like Sam Evans. I promise to think about it and most importantly pray about it, but I am not quitting my job. I know it would be silly of me to demand a paycheck from a Christian school with you being rich, so I was going to volunteer next year any way, I will compromise with you and not work the entire school year, but I will be a parent volunteer willing to step in and do whatever the school needs while I still get my certification in music education. I may never become a music teacher if you plan on keeping me pregnant, but one day these eggs of mine will dry up, and I can see myself teaching when we have an empty nest."

"We are going to need premarital counseling soon. I think that is the first thing we should do because I just realize we have been so caught up with the romance that we haven't discussed where we see each other in the future as a couple. So, I am going to ask our pastor to announce our marriage this Sunday at church, and we can have him schedule our premarital counseling so we can deal with some of our many issues. Because we haven't any discussed how many kids we would like to have, would we want to stay in Ohio forever if you somehow decide to become a recording artist and Nashville or New York may be better places for you to pursue music. I guess we need to take some time this week to go write down our individual future goals and see how we are going to be able to mesh the two."

By the time Mercedes had gotten off the phone with Sam and discussed everything with her mother, she was totally exhausted and in a different headspace than she was in than less than twenty-four hours ago. What had she gotten herself into? Sam was still a dominant alpha type personality, and she was no shrinking violet. She knew it was going to be some lively discussions held in premarital counseling, and she wasn't looking forward to it. Maybe running into Tina had been a blessing in a disguise. It had prompted a much needed dialogue. She and Sam were going to have to work on their communication and compromising skills because that was the only way they were going to make their future marriage work. Love was not all they needed; she realized as she prayed before falling asleep that God would lead and direct her paths and leave her open to His will and not what she wanted or what Sam wanted, but what He wanted for their best possible life together. After praying, she had a sense of peace and calmness that helped her fall into an instant sleep with no doubts or worries plaguing her mind.


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N: This is what I call a summary chapter which I will still need to rewrite one day, but not today. I own nothing so all songs and characters etc. I can't claim, but I do hope you enjoy the wedding chapter as I like to call it. The first epilogue will be published later tonight. Thanks for reading this story and going on this journey with me. **_

Chapter Twenty

Mercedes and Maria went to the Evans' residence before leaving for church the next morning. Sam was going to drive them and take them out for dinner afterwards. During the ride to church, Mercedes and Maria told Sam about all the fun they had last night. The girls minus Pearl decided to have a good old fashioned pillow fight. Because Mercedes was the biggest, she could only fight with one hand. They had so much fun that they broke Mercedes' bed, and they all had to sleep in the guest bedroom.

When they arrived at church, they were bombarded by people who had heard from Kayla about their engagement. She felt that she had shown the ring to twenty people before they made it to their seats. Most of the people who stopped her were the students and teachers she worked with at the school. During announcements, Sam and Mercedes were told to stand while the pastor announced their engagement. Most of the congregation clapped in congratulations towards them. Then, they proceeded to give their tithes and offerings and celebrate with praise and worship. By the time worship was over, all thoughts of the engagement had left Mercedes' mind. She was more focused on the Lord and being able to enter into the inner courts to the holiest place.

After the sermon, Mercedes and Sam were ambushed by well-wishers. Mercedes was glad that the crowd began to thin because she had gone without breakfast that morning and by two o'clock, she was hungry and tired of answering the same questions.

Wherever she went the following day she was met with the same questions. Her colleagues all wanted to know about the proposal and her future wedding plans. She was bombarded with questions from the staff and her students. They wanted to know if she was coming back to the school next year. She fielded as many questions as she could and tried to stay focus on her job.

When Sam told her that she had to call L.A. Reid that afternoon to give him an answer as soon as she brought Maria home, Mercedes just wanted to melt away and pretend that she didn't have to make the decision. Pastor Larry told her to just do it because she never knew how God could use the situation even if she wasn't even offered a recording contract; it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Her mother was more vociferous and told her if she didn't do it, she was just plain crazy. Sam surprisingly was the only person who didn't pressure her one way or the other. He told her he would love and support her regardless of her decision and that may be what led Mercedes into being bold enough to take the chance to face the rejection that she had gotten so often as a member of her school chorus. She was never the lead singer at school being told she was only good for the glory note; even though she had an amazing voice, she was constantly told that she lacked the star quality that the president of their choral group had. She hadn't realized that those old thoughts and feelings from high school still plagued her and were the main reason she never tried to capitalize on using her voice for a living.

Now, she had nothing to risk only to possibly gain if she was awarded a contract. With this new attitude, she called Mr. Reid and agreed to come to L.A. during the summer in which she really had no plans but to enjoy her newlywed status and embrace being a mother. So, it was not as if she was if she was complicating her life by making the decision to follow up on something that couldn't have happen unless it was fate because the odds of Sam sending that video to Emeril and even knowing Emeril coupled with the coincidence of L.A. Reid being at the restaurant at the time had to be a billion to one, and if that wasn't a God moment, then she didn't know what was.

Mercedes spent the rest of the month of January going to premarital counseling and finally talking Sam down from the idea of them either having six more kids or Mercedes giving birth to three and the two of them adopting the other three. Pastor Larry almost had a heart attack when Mercedes said that she would agree to have the six children if Sam would agree to give birth to them from laughing so hard at the two of them. They had been given workbooks and other Christian premarital reading material to help promote discussions and activities. Mercedes and Sam spent so much time on their premarital readings and discussions that they had to remind themselves that they still had a wedding to plan. Pastor Larry was allowing them to use their church which Mercedes' mom didn't approve because she wanted them to use her church in Lima, but the church was already booked in Lima, and Mercedes mom could stay with her at her apartment and arrange things at the church in Solon just as easy as she could if the wedding was in Lima. The flowers, wedding brunch, and attire were still not purchased, but the invitations were mailed out and handled by Jamie, Sam's old receptionist who still worked for SEI for his guests, and Mercedes' mom had gleefully took the time to attach the preprinted labels that Mercedes had made of all her contacts and printed out in just a day's time while she watched her television programs. With Pearl's help, all the invitations were mailed, and that was the only thing completed on Mercedes' mile long to do list.

Until Mercedes found out that one of the members of their church was a professional photographer and videographer, and when asked had agreed to record and take pictures of the wedding. Sam was arranging the music his only requests were that Mercedes sing to him and that they both sing a duet to each other and that they all sing a trio with Maria as the only songs needed for the wedding besides the wedding march. Sally had agreed to work with a local catering company to help her produce the wedding brunch that was based on her normal morning breakfast menus, and Emeril who had been invited just because Mercedes thought it was the right thing to do was providing the wedding cake and groom's cake as his gift to the bride and groom. He said it was because of Mercedes' voice and that he had heard a rumor that both Sam and Mercedes would be singing at the wedding, and he didn't want to miss the opportunity to hear that voice live, so he had to come to show his appreciation. Emeril would be the only celebrity at the wedding much to both Mercedes' and Sam's relief because they didn't want the press involved or their wedding publicized at all. They realized that they were both private people, and that was a good thing and something that they didn't have to compromise on unlike the questions of whether or not Mercedes should work after marriage, how many kids they would like to have, and where they would like to live and raise their children if Mercedes did become a recording artist.

Shopping for their flowers and wedding attire was the next item on their list, and Mercedes finally bowed down to Sam's desires and hired a wedding planner someone who was once a friend of hers in high school, Kurt Hummel who had had planned and arranged his father's remarriage in high school in the same amount of time and who was a part-time employee of Vogue, so fashion was still one of his pursuits as he pursued his musical theater career in New York. Kurt met with Mercedes on Skype, and she had to drive to the church so that Kurt could see where the wedding and reception would take place. She had to email him pictures and measurements and other details since the wedding was on Valentine's Day, the couple agreed to the cheesiness of using dark red and white roses which were easy to order because of the time of the year many florists had them already on stock and picking those as the colors of the wedding with Sam wearing a white tuxedo with a deep burgundy red vest and tie, and Mercedes a white gown with deep burgundy red in the back, her mother's veil as something borrowed and old with ruby and diamond studded earrings and necklace as her something new from Sam, and blue garter from Denise as her something blue.

Maria was to wear a white sleeveless satin dress with a dark red sash and dark red roses at the bottom of the dress with a ruby and diamond tiara, since there would be no wedding party, and Mercedes' mom would be walking her down the aisle and 'giving her away' to Sam and then seated in special area reserved for the bride's mother while the Harts would be seated in a special area as Sam's honorary family on the groom's side. Both ladies wore to wear burgundy, and John was wearing a traditional white tuxedo with a burgundy red bow tie and cummerbund.

It was February before Mercedes and Sam realized, and they had completed their premarital counseling and were still getting married which was in itself a miracle. Sam finally agreed to Mercedes' decision of limiting their family to four kids whether from birth or adoption; she wouldn't mind having three children, but if circumstances led them to adopt, they were both okay with adoption. Mercedes had spent Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in New York with Kurt as he took her to bridal boutique, and she had her gown altered as soon as she returned home for the final fitting, and the gown was now in her mom's home with the veil she would be wearing. Her shoes, (which cost more than the gown) on the other hand, were at her apartment, and she walked around in them daily because her one weakness was her love of beautiful shoes and the pair definitely needed to be broken in before her big day which was less than three weeks away.

Kurt, who had came to town on Friday the sixth of February to finalize all the details and to make sure everything was ready, was spending the week to help make sure the wedding went off without a snag. The rehearsal dinner which wasn't a big deal because only Pastor Larry and his wife, the wedding photographer who would be working as well as eating, the pianist, other church musicians, Mercedes' foster sisters who would be serving as ushers, and their spouses, Kurt and his parents, Jamie and her husband, Sally and her husband, Emeril and his wife, the Harts, Pearl, Maria, and Sam and herself so under thirty people were to be included in the private dinner scheduled for the next Friday was the only thing left for him to plan which was relief to everyone who had any dealings with him when he was in super organization mode.

Mercedes who thought she would be busy fighting the temptations of the flesh with Sam realized how funny that idea was. Even though they were spending time together, they were always so busy dealing with the chaos of planning a marriage and an adoption that once Kurt arrived, they rarely had any time alone together with Kurt wanting to make sure every detail was covered and that the ceremony was perfect, the table settings for the brunch perfect, and that things that the couple hadn't even thought of was covered.

It wasn't a surprise that by Friday, the 13th, Mercedes who was the opposite of a Bridezilla was ready to either kill Kurt after the rehearsal or elope to Vegas which would both end in the same result of Kurt's death because he would die of a heart attack if they eloped. Kurt's problem was Maria who had a special part in the ceremony; she was only a little girl and making sure she was able to say her lines and do her part without incident became Kurt's cross to bear. Nobody else cared because most of everyone there had experience with children and knew to expect the unexpected. However, they rehearsed the songs and the vows for what felt like a million time before Kurt was finally satisfied. Maria and Mercedes had both decided to wear their shoes that they wearing for the ceremony which turned out to be the worst idea imaginable because Kurt had Mercedes on the heels for three hours standing in the same place for the majority of the time without being able to walk around to alleviate the stress on her feet in brand new shoes. By the time Mercedes threatened to take use her heels which she had finally taken off as a weapon on Kurt in church, Kurt realized it was time to leave the church for the dinner which was set to began at six which Sam had to call the restaurant and the special guests to let them know that it was postponed to eight.

During the rehearsal dinner, Kurt and Mercedes finally made up when Kurt made his toast to the happy couple. Kurt because he was a gay teen in Lima had been bullied in high school, and Mercedes was the first person to become his friend in high school revealing to Mercedes that he had even contemplated suicide before their friendship and that was why he was willing to ten years later take time off from work and plan her dream wedding to a guy who finally deserved her. Mercedes burst into tears hugging Kurt, and the rest of the night was filled with more sentimental toasts and tears as the evening wore down and Mercedes headed to her car after kissing Sam goodnight with him teasing her to enjoy her final night as a Jones with her mom. Because they didn't have a best man or maid or honor neither cared for a bachelor or bachelorette party but were content in spending that night getting some much deserved rest before the big day.

When Mercedes woke up the next day, she couldn't believe it was her wedding day. Pandemonium was the theme as everybody slept late due to the late rehearsal dinner, and Mercedes and her mom barely made it to the church in time to meet with the Spa west staff that had come on location to provide early morning spa treatments for the ladies of the wedding party which included eye lifts, facials, manicures, pedicures, waxing, hair, and make-up for everyone but Maria who only got the manicure, pedicure, and her hair styled. Mercedes didn't believe in the heavy child make-up look of children beauty pageants and only would agree to some colored lip gloss for Maria to wear so she could have some appearance of wearing make-up. Sam had purchases all the ladies pearl and ruby jewelry to wear as thanks for their participation in the wedding party, and Pearl and Denise both showered him with hugs and kisses in appreciation during the rehearsal dinner. He had given John and Kurt pearl and ruby cuff links and a Rolex watch. After everyone was dressed and made up, Kurt came in with the photographer who was taking informal pictures and would take pictures of Mercedes and Pearl, Mercedes by herself in several poses, Mercedes and Maria, Maria by herself in several pictures, Maria and Denise, Mercedes, Pearl, and Denise, and a couple of pictures of the four of them together.

Sam had already taken pictures with Maria and the Harts and was glad that he didn't have to take as many as Mercedes. He knew that following the ceremony he would have to take pictures with Mercedes and then with the rest of the wedding party, and Kurt had reminded him to not mess up Mercedes' make-up when he kissed the bride for that very reason. Sam was waiting patiently for the ceremony to start and couldn't wait to see his bride. His daughter's, yes he was already referring to Maria as his daughter, it felt so natural and right, appearance had already blown his mind and he couldn't imagine how Mercedes would look in her wedding finery. The flowers and candles and music that were playing were all lovely, but he knew it would all pale in comparison when he saw her face.

As soon as the ceremony began and he saw John and Denise escorting Maria down the aisle to stand beside Sam, Sam couldn't keep a tear from falling down his eyes as he could feel his mother and his sister's presence when he looked at the little girl who looked so much like the two, and then Mercedes followed soon after Maria with her mom and she literally took his breath away; Sam had to force himself to breathe and to keep his eyes on hers as she looked at him without wavering a vision of loveliness that he couldn't believe was about to become his wife when Pastor Larry ask who was giving Mercedes away to the groom and future daughter, and Pearl answered, 'I her mother'. Sam then reached out to grab her hand before Maria who was supposed to do so was able to. Sam just had to touch her to see if she was real and not a figment of his imagination.

Mercedes looked at Sam and Maria had to fight the tears that were welling in her eyes, she was so filled with love for the both of them that it was as if a well was about to overflow. She listened to their pastor talk about how music was going to be incorporated into the ceremony, and she didn't miss a beat when the first part of the ceremony which was a duet of "When God Made You" by Newsong featuring Natalie Grant sung by **Sam** and Mercedes (**Both**).

**Its always been a mystery to me**

**How two hearts can come together**

**And love can last forever**

**But now that I have found you, I believe**

**That a miracle has come**

**When God sends the perfect one**

**Now gone are all my questions about why**

**And I've never been so sure of anything in my life **

Chorus:

**I wonder what God was thinking**

**When He created you**

**I wonder if He knew everything I would need**

**Because He made all my dreams come true**

**When God made you**

**He must have been thinking about me **

I promise that wherever you may go

Wherever life may lead you

With all my heart Ill be there, too

From this moment on I want you to know

I'll let nothing come between us

And I will love the ones you love

**Now gone are all my questions about why**

**And I have never been so sure of anything in my life **

Chorus:

**I wonder what God was thinking**

**When He created you**

**I wonder if He knew everything I would need**

**Because He made all my dreams come true**

**When God made you**

**He must have been thinking about me **

Bridge:

**He made the sun**

H**e made the moon**

**To harmonize in perfect tune**

**One cant move without the other**

**They just have to be together**

**And that is why I know its true**

**You're for me and I'm for you**

**Cause my world just cant be right**

**Without you in my life **

Chorus:

**I wonder what God was thinking**

**When He created you**

**I wonder if He knew everything I would need**

**Because He made all my dreams come true**

Tag chorus:

**He must have heard every prayer I've been praying** (I 've been praying)

**Yes He knew everything I would need**

**When God made you** (I thank God he made you)

**When dreams come true** (you are my love my love)

**When God made you He must have been thinking about me**

After the song, they exchanged rings and vows, and right before, during, and after the lighting of two of the three unity candles together Mercedes sang "I Promise" by Cece Winans. Following Mercedes' song, Pastor Larry prayed over the couple then presented the couple as man and wife, and Sam was finally able to kiss his bride.

Then, Pastor Larry led the vows that Sam, Maria, and Mercedes exchanged as they vowed to be a family with Sam giving Maria a locket with a picture of her parents and her as baby on one side and a picture of the three of them on the other side which he explained the significance of as he exchanged his vow to be the best dad that he could be to his beautiful little girl, and as Mercedes made her pledge to becoming Maria's mother loving her as if she had given birth to her, Mercedes placed a ring on her hand that matched the locket which she would be able to wear on the locket when her finger size changed. Maria gave them both a kiss on a cheek and they did a group hug after their family exchange of vows and sniffling could be heard throughout the church. Sam and Mercedes helped Maria in lighting her candle and the three lit the final candle together while the trio sang Kelly Clarkson's "Thankful" before, during, and after the candle lighting:

**You know my soul**

**you know everything about me there's to know** (Sam to _Maria_)

**You know my heart **

**how to make me stop & how to make me go** (Sam to Mercedes)

**you should know I love everything **

**about you don't you know** (Sam to the both of them)

_That I'm thankful_

_for the blessing_

_and the lessons that I've learned w/you_

_by my side_ (Maria to Mercedes)

_That I'm thankful so thankful for the love_

_that you keep bringing in my life_ (Maria to Sam)

_**In my life **_

_**Thankful so thankful **_

(All Three in three part harmony)

You know my thoughts 

before I open up my mouth & try to speak (Mercedes to Sam)

You know my dreams

must be listening when I'm talking in my sleep (Mercedes to Maria)

I hope you know 

I love having you around me don't you know (Mercedes to both)

_**That I'm thankful for the blessing**_

_**and the lessons that I've learned w/you**_

_**by my side**_

_**that I'm thankful so thankful for the love**_

_**that you keep bringing in my life in my life **_

(All Three in three part harmony)

_**Don't you know that we are thankful for the moment **_

_**when we are down you always know how to make us smile**_ (ad libs Mercedes)

_**thankful for the joy that your bringing in our lives**_(Sam and Maria to Mercedes)

_for the lessons that I've learned_ (Maria to Mercedes)

**for the trouble I've known** (Sam to Maria)

**_f_**_**or the heartache & pain**_ (All three)

that you've thrown my way (Mercedes sings the rest to Maria and Sam)

when I didn't think I could go on

but you made me feel strong 

with you I am never alone

(The rest of the song sung in three part harmony with ad libs done by Mercedes)

_**thankful so thankful**_

_**that I'm thankful for the blessing**_

_**and the lessons that I've learned w/you**_

_**by my side**_

_**that I'm thankful so thankful for the love**_

_**that you keep bringing in my life in my life**_

When they finished the song, Pastor Larry blessed the family, and the processional began in which the wedding party began to take pictures while the guests were treated to a slide slow presentation of the couple and their daughter to view which included songs sung by Sam, "God Bless the Broken Road", a short video of Sam singing "My Girl" to Mercedes and Maria and dancing with the two of them, among other songs about family and love depicting the now happy family. After the photographs were taken, the guests were led to the reception area and the brunch and festivities went off without a hitch, and the new family enjoyed the beginning of their first official day together as the Evans family.


	21. Epilogue

**A/N: This epilogue is rated T so if PG-13 sex scenes offend you, please don't read this chapter. Finally the couple can stop fighting temptation. This is the fanfiction rated version of the honeymoon. I will be writing another version for abbie_carr on Tumblr by next weekend that will feature the couple in South Africa Cape Town to be exact and they will not be so virginal LOL. I couldn't write smut for them to save my life as a newly married couple. Mercedes could be a freak, but her freaky side is not out yet and Sam doesn't want to scare his new bride on their first night of wedded bliss, so bear with me okay.**

Epilogue

Mercedes had left all the plans of the honeymoon to Sam, and she didn't know where she was going only knowing that her mom and Maria had packed her bags and they boarded Sam's private plane after the reception was over. Maria was going to stay at the house with the Harts and Pearl until Saturday when Pearl would leave them to return to her own home. Mercedes was shocked when they got off the plane at a private airfield and the pilot stayed on board while Mercedes followed Sam to the rental all terrain SUV vehicle that was waiting for him in the parking lot. Sam put their luggage in the trunk while Mercedes powered the vehicle on turning on the heat because Sam had taken them to some place in the mountains and it was very cold.

On the way to their destination, Sam purposefully dodged all Mercedes questions until they arrived at their destination which was a cabin that Sam owned in the mountains of Tennessee. Once they were inside the cabin, Sam prepared a candlelight bath for Mercedes as he lit the fire in the fireplace and arrange their meal in front of the fireplace while Mercedes bathed. When Mercedes comes out of the bathroom in a red satin robe and joins Sam at the fire, the two eat the simple meal that Sam had prepared. He had Emeril make some meals that could be reheated for the entire honeymoon because Sam didn't want to waste any time of their honeymoon cooking, After eating their meals, Sam began to pour the last of one of the bottles of champagne that he brought along from the reception along with a tier of their wedding cake for their dessert. When they finished eating the cake and drinking the champagne, Sam removed the food and returned to Mercedes and sat down behind her with his back on the sofa and her back to his chest.

"Mercedes, I am grateful that you love him and agreed to make me the happiest man in the universe by marrying me today."

Mercedes turns her head around and kisses the man who is worthy and deserving of her love and affection. Their kisses soon turned passionate, and if there was a theme song for their first time of no holds barred passion, it would be "Tonight I Celebrate My love To You" by Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson. Mercedes could imagine she could hear music playing as Sam begins to take off his sweater and is shirtless kissing Mercedes as he leans her down on the bearskin rug in front of the fireplace as he slowly begins to undress her as he takes the time to worship his wife he likes the sound of that his wife kissing his beloved from head to toe. Once they both are naked Sam picks up Mercedes and takes her next door to the bedroom which has a king-sized bed covered in rose petals, Sam kisses Mercedes as he realizes for the first time that he no longer has to fight his baser nature, and he could finally become one with the love of his life.

He looks Mercedes into the eyes as he enters her breaching her maidenhead as gently as he can. Mercedes feels the sting of Sam's possession and in hindsight wished she would have taken up horseback riding with Maria so that she wouldn't have felt the brief wave of pain. Sam paused when he saw her face flinching and tried to be still to allow her time to adjust to his possession. Mercedes, finally able to feel comfortable with his fullness embedded deep inside of her, began to slightly move which prompted Sam to know that the pain was gone and he could begin to thrust in and out of her.

While Sam was joined with his bride he couldn't keep his eyes off of her face and while looking into her eyes it felt as if it was his first time making love to a woman. He never felt joined and the completeness he felt as he did when he looked into Mercedes' eyes as he possessed her stroking into her warm moist and tight heat. He so wanted to go faster but her eyes lured him into a pace that was slow and tender as they gently found fulfillment while truly becoming one flesh, and Sam realized that the wait was truly worth it. Mercedes was his, and he was hers he told her as he felt her body began to convulse beneath his drawing him into a climax that seem never-ending; the pleasure that they had given each other would be forever etched into his mind.

After their lovemaking, Sam had once again filled the bath tub for Mercedes but this time with Epsom salts, lavender, and other soothing oils and minerals for her to relax and recuperate after their lovemaking. He took a shower because he couldn't trust himself not to ravish her again. Just looking at her breasts covered with suds got him instantly hard, and he had to avoid looking her way as she soaked, and he hurriedly took his shower and went back to remake the bed with fresh linen. When Mercedes came back into the bedroom to join him, Sam couldn't stop himself from kissing his wife. He led her once again to the bed and got behind her spooning her and telling her how much he loved her.

"I never want to go back to Ohio; they can make a movie about us _The Mountain Man and His Wife._"

"You are crazy Sam Evans; besides even though I would love to spend forever with you isolated on a mountain, I know that after one month that I would have to have Maria and my mother here with me for company to probably prevent me from killing you." Mercedes said laughing at her husband.

"Oh, yeah, maybe we can bring Sally on the weekends, too." Sam said as if he was actually considering this.

"I don't care where we live Sam as long as I am with you and our precious daughter. I love you so much and tonight you have made me realize how blessed I am to have a crazy romantic husband who is gentle, loving, and dedicated to making all my dreams come true. I love you Mr. Evans."

"And I love you, too Mrs. Evans…I once thought that I was cursed because I lost the two very people that I loved the most, but I realized now that I have you and Maria that I am the most blessed man in the world, and I thank God for giving me the perfect wife for me your surpass my fantasies, and I will endeavor to be worthy of your love because you have already made my dreams come true when you said I do today."

"Sam Evans, don't make me cry." Mercedes told him as she turned around to kiss him even though she enjoyed the warmth of him spooning her seeing him face to face and falling asleep with his face as the last thing she saw was even more special.

Sam wasn't surprised that Mercedes went to sleep after kissing him; he knew she was exhausted. He wasn't ready to go to sleep yet so he thought about his surprise honeymoon trip to Cape Town South Africa that he had planned for them to go to during the school's Easter break. He couldn't wait to have a full week alone with his bride, but he knew their three day four night stay in his cabin would be sufficient as they discovered the passionate side of their love with one another before heading back to Solon to resume their lives. She had to be back to work on Friday and he couldn't take her out of the country and be back in time for her to go work without her experiencing jet lag and recovering from being worn out sexually by him. He had just one taste of the fulfillment he felt nestled between her thighs and he knew that she was now his latest addiction and he would be gentle as possible but he knew it would be a feat each day to keep his hands off of her magnificent body. Plus Maria was excited about their family mini vacation over the upcoming weekend that he had planned. It would be her first weekend as their official daughter, and he was taking her to Disneyland in California with Pearl agreeing to come along to provide childcare when the two newlyweds needed time alone. Sam couldn't believe this was his life. He had finally had a dream come true and he was so grateful to live the life that he was blessed with because all the pain had resulted in the greatest gains a man could ever wish for. He had money, good looks, and good health, but all that paled when it came to a love of a good woman and a daughter who loved him as much as Maria did.


End file.
